From PBS NewsHour.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem was repeatedly pressed by senators Tuesday to explain, retract or apologize for her response to the fatal shootings of two U.S. citizens by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis.

The Department of Homeland Security has been roiled by public outcry over its aggressive tactics and the climbing number of shooting deaths — including Renee Good and Alex Pretti, killed weeks apart — at the hands of federal immigration agents. Trump officials, including Noem, accused the victims of committing acts of “domestic terrorism." Bystander videos later countered the administration’s narratives around these shootings and other violent confrontations with agents.

Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, asked Noem if she would like to retract her characterization of Good and Pretti’s actions as “domestic terrorism.”

Noem said she had gotten her information from agents on the ground.

“It was a chaotic scene,” she said.

But senators on both sides of the aisle wanted more information and acknowledgement that her characterization was a mistake.

Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., read aloud a quote from an Axios story in which Noem blamed Homeland Security adviser Stephen Miller for her remarks.

“No one has heard me say that,” Noem said, adding that the story hinged on anonymous sources.

Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., asked Noem whether she had anything to say to Pretti’s parents, who were distraught by the way their son was portrayed in the aftermath of his death.

"I did not call him a domestic terrorist,” Noem said. “I said it appeared to be an incident of domestic terrorism.”

Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt., asked if Noem wanted to apologize for her characterization of the victims.

Noem, as she had done throughout the hearing, offered her condolences and didn’t apologize. She promised to “work hard to give everybody factual information.”

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