In a display of reducing tensions, Trump said he had "great calls" with Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Jacob Frey on Monday, after federal immigration officers killed a protester for the second time in two weeks. Trump's sudden shift toward a more conciliatory approach is just the latest in a string of moments where he's taken maximalist positions, only to appear to retreat.
The Trump White House has tried to blame Democratic leaders for the protests. But after videos suggest his administration wrongly labeled ICU nurse Alex Pretti an active threat to the ICE agents who shot him, the administration is trying to recalibrate its crackdown, putting White House border czar Tom Homan in charge of its Minnesota immigration operations among other moves and announcing that Greg Bovino was leaving the city.
The chief federal judge in Minnesota, meanwhile, ordered Todd Lyons, the head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, to appear before him Friday to explain why he shouldn't be held in contempt for Trump administration failures to hold hearings for detained immigrants.