‘These people need to go’: Mark Kelly lays out demand for DHS funding

People protest outside the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building, in Minneapolis, on Jan. 30.

Hours after the House passed a spending bill to avert a partial government shutdown and provide short-term funding for the Department of Homeland Security while the Senate negotiates reforms, Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona appeared on MSNBC Wednesday morning to lay out his baseline requirements for support.

“We've got to get rid of the masks,” Kelly said. “They should be wearing body cameras, all of them, all of the time. And right now they need to get out of Minneapolis and really reevaluate, you know, what this agency should be. [Homeland Security Secretary] Kristi Noem needs to be fired, by the way—that's a good starting point here. And the senior leadership there—the ones that have implemented these policies—these people need to go.”

Sen. Mark Kelly: "Right now they need to get out of Minneapolis and really reevaluate what this agency agency should be. Kristi Noem needs to be fired, by the way. That's a good starting point here. And the senior leadership there, the ones that have implemented these policies,… pic.twitter.com/LeS9ofetk1

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) February 4, 2026

In the wake of Immigration and Customs Enforcement abuses against Americans like Minnesota residents Renee Good and Alex Pretti, the White House’s efforts to control the narrative about the nature of its violent immigration actions is no longer viable.

Elected officials are under growing pressure to restrain Trump’s shock troops, and as calls to  “abolish ICE” gains traction, Kelly’s basic demands may begin to look more reasonable to Republicans interested in running for reelection.