WASHINGTON — Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., said in an interview on NBC News’ “Meet the Press” that she will not vote for Department of Homeland Security funding after the latest fatal shooting of an American by a federal agent in Minneapolis.
“When they’re killing two constituents in my state, and they’re taking two-year-olds out of the arms of their mom, and they are taking an elder Hmong man out of his house and putting him out there in his underwear, and then figuring out they have the wrong man,” Klobuchar told “Meet the Press” moderator Kristen Welker. “No, I am not voting for this funding.”
Several other Democrats announced that they would vote against DHS funding until restrictions on immigration enforcement operations are put in place after Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old nurse, was shot and killed by a federal officer in Minneapolis. The bill would need a handful of Democrats’ votes in order to pass, and the Senate is expected to consider the measure this week. If the appropriations bill does not pass, the government could enter a partial shutdown at the end of the month.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said on Saturday that Democrats would not provide the necessary votes if DHS funding is included in the appropriations bill.
Klobuchar urged her Republican colleagues to “stand up” and join Democrats in voting against DHS funding.
“If they care about the Constitution, they should care about this,” she said.
Pretti was killed on Saturday, the second time federal agents have shot and killed someone in Minneapolis this month. Renee Nicole Good was shot and killed by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer weeks ago.
Videos from witnesses appear to contradict the Trump administration’s versions of events. Administration officials painted a picture of a person who approached law enforcement with a gun and “violently resisted” when officers tried to disarm him. However, videos show Pretti going to help a person who was pushed by federal agents, and the videos do not appear to show Pretti holding a gun in the moments before he was killed.
Local officials have said that Pretti is a U.S. citizen and had a permit to carry a gun.
Klobuchar said she was “absolutely horrified” by the shooting and condemned the administration’s rhetoric.
“When I hear the officials from the Trump administration describe this video in ways that simply aren’t true, I just keep thinking, ‘Your eyes don’t lie,'” she said.
She urged ICE to leave her state, saying, “They are making us less safe, not more safe.”
Frank Matt, Jon Schuppe, Sahil Kapur and Brennan Leach contributed.