WATCH: GOP Senator Gets Torched After Bizarre Anti-Trump Rant During DHS Hearing

Outgoing U.S. Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC) is under fire from the Trump base after he erupted into a lengthy tantrum  during testimony from Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem on Tuesday.

Noem sat for testimony before the House Judiciary Committee for the first time since the fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, two anti-ICE extremists who were shot while assaulting federal immigration agents. The hearing largely covered DHS operations, including immigration enforcement, FEMA disaster response, and the impact of the ongoing partial government shutdown impacting agency funding.

Several Republicans expressed support for the administration’s border security priorities with a notable exception from Tillis, who has become increasingly hostile towards President Trump and his base since announcing his retirement last year.

After some generic statements about “concerns” over the Biden Administration’s de facto open borders policies, Tillis erupted into a fiery tirade over the “quality” of DHS immigration enforcement operations. The senator appeared to indicate that deporting vast numbers of illegal aliens should be off the table in favor of limited “quality” deportations.

“Quality matters, not quantity — and what we’ve seen is a disaster under your leadership, Ms. Noem, a disaster. What we’ve seen is innocent people getting detained that turned out are American citizens,” the senator shouted, failing to note that American citizens detained by ICE are generally attacking or impeding officers.

Tillis also addressed the Minneapolis shootings, noting they remained under investigation. He questioned the chain of command, asking who border czar Tom Homan reported to. Noem replied, “The president.”

The “Republican” senator then suggested the assignment of additional oversight indicated gaps in initial handling and emphasized the need for standard review processes, a move that would effectively neuter deportations.

'Republican' Thom Tillis is extremely angry at the Trump administration for actually following through on mass deportations.

All it takes is for an elected Republican to retire to tell us what they really think about the priorities of Republican voters. pic.twitter.com/HTRY7rOFrO

— Theo Wold (@RealTheoWold) March 3, 2026

In one particularly brazen moment, the senator claimed that Pretti and Good were unjustifiably shot, ignoring clear video evidence that Good attempted to run over an officer with her car, and numerous instances of Pretti assaulting agents.

“The fact that you can’t admit to a mistake… it’s going to prove that Ms. Good and Mr. Pretti probably should not have been shot in the face and in the back,” he said. “Law enforcement needs to learn from that. Not only should the FBI be investigating it, but every single law enforcement agency in that jurisdiction should be invited to it, so our law enforcement officers don’t have this pall cast upon them.”

Noem defended the department’s overall record during the hearing, emphasizing efforts to address border security challenges from the prior administration and the effects of the funding lapse. She stated the shutdown “is reckless, it’s unnecessary, and it undermines American national security and it harms the men and women who work at DHS and their families.”

It was the first of Noem’s two scheduled appearances this week, with a House Judiciary Committee session set for the following day.

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