Unlike during his first term, President Trump has, so far, been reluctant to tell any of his aides or Cabinet members, “You’re fired!”

Trump is clearly concerned by how the Department of Homeland Security has become a lightning rod for the administration’s critics. But any high-profile dismissal would hand a political victory to Democrats – who have demanded the scalp of DHS Secretary Kristi Noem after the killing of two anti-ICE protestors in Minneapolis.

Trump told reporters Tuesday that Noem would not step down. “I think she is doing a very good job,” the president said before leaving the White House for a speech in Iowa, less than 250 miles from Minneapolis where protests continue unabated. Although once on the ground, he admitted, “I do that all the time, I shake up teams.”

It is the potential for a shakeup that has piqued the interest of at least three serious candidates to replace Noem. Former Utah Rep. Jason Chaffetz and former Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin are both believed to be open to joining the administration. Multiple sources tell RealClearPolitics that EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin is also a contender for the position.

A senior White House official earlier this month tried to tamp down speculation but confirmed to RCP the list of names being circulated as potential Noem replacements. “I don’t know where this is coming from,” the aide said, explaining that “the president loves Kristi and thinks she is doing a great job.” Asked if a departure would happen anytime soon, the official replied, “There is zero chance she will leave.”

Then Minnesota.

Alex Pretti, a registered nurse with a concealed carry permit, was wrestled to the ground, pepper-sprayed, and shot by Border Patrol agents in Minneapolis on Saturday while he filmed ongoing deportation operations. He was reportedly carrying a Sig Sauer P320 9mm pistol. Video of the incident shows agents seizing the holstered weapon before shots were fired.

Noem claimed at a Sunday press conference that Pretti was brandishing a weapon at the time of his death, alleging that he was engaged in “domestic terrorism” – language nearly identical to how she described Renee Nicole Good, the 37-year-old woman shot in her car at another ICE protest in Minneapolis on Jan. 7.

In her remarks in the immediate aftermath of Pretti’s shooting, Noem added, “This individual went and impeded their law enforcement operations, attacked those officers, had a weapon on him and multiple dozens of rounds of ammunition, wishing to inflict harm on these officers coming, brandishing like that, and impeding their work that they were doing.”

Bystander video, however, never shows Pretti reaching for his firearm even as he is tackled to the ground by Border Patrol.

Along with longtime aide Corey Lewandowski, Noem met Monday with Trump at........

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