Gavin Newsom did not miss the moment. As the Trump administration scrambled to control the fallout from the killing of Veterans Affairs nurse Alex Pretti in Minneapolis, California’s governor jumped in to underline that something simpler was taking place as panic, blame, and a collapsing narrative took center stage.
The focus of Newsom’s ridicule was White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, who appeared to dramatically reverse course after Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem publicly suggested she had been acting on instructions from Miller and President Donald Trump.
On Tuesday, Newsom’s press team posted a side-by-side comparison on X highlighting the shift. “Stephen Miller 3 days ago: Alex Pretti is a domestic terrorist,” the post read. “Stephen Miller today: Fire Kristi Noem. She went rogue!!!”
Stephen Miller 3 days ago:
Alex Pretti is a domestic terrorist.
Stephen Miller today:
Fire Kristi Noem. She went rogue!!! pic.twitter.com/pSjs0oOyJx
— Governor Newsom Press Office (@GovPressOffice) January 28, 2026
The contrast was hard to miss, and Newsom leaned into it.
Miller had initially been central to the administration’s response after Pretti, 37, was shot and killed by federal agents. Early statements framed the ICU nurse as a violent threat, language that was repeated across agencies and echoed publicly by Noem.
That position began to unravel after Noem told associates that her actions had been directed from above. “Everything I’ve done, I’ve done at the direction of the president and Stephen,” she said, according to Axios.
The comment landed like a tripwire.
BREAKING: Kristi Noem is increasingly under fire from Congress and is now blaming Trump and Stephen Miller for her actions. This is not what leadership looks like. pic.twitter.com/C3fCVWEcvj
— Trump Lie Tracker (Commentary Account) (@MAGALieTracker) January 28, 2026
Almost immediately, Miller’s tone shifted. He stated the White House had given “clear guidance” to the Department of Homeland Security and suggested that Customs and Border Protection teams on the ground may not have followed protocol.
“We are evaluating why the CBP team may not have been following that protocol,” Miller said, pushing responsibility down the chain.
Newsom seized on the reversal as evidence of a broader collapse in message discipline. His office framed Miller’s move as less clarification than self-preservation, a familiar maneuver inside a White House now openly leaking against itself.
Trump aide Stephen Miller, who called Alex Pretti an ‘assassin’ on Saturday, now says border patrol agents sent to Minnesota may have breached ‘protocol’ (and blames his initial statement on DHS falsely saying Pretti brandished a weapon plus ‘reports from CBP on the ground’) pic.twitter.com/ZLZoTPII4w
— Danny Kemp (@dannyctkemp) January 28, 2026
The tension comes as Noem’s position appears increasingly unstable. Her remarks following the shooting, including claims that Pretti intended to “massacre” federal agents, were viewed internally as inaccurate and needlessly inflammatory.
Those claims have also come under scrutiny after video showed Pretti being tackled and disarmed before multiple shots were fired while he was on the ground. Multiple sources told Axios that blame is now ricocheting between senior officials and frontline agents over who pushed the original narrative and why it was released so quickly.
In a later statement, Miller said early comments were based on information sent to the White House through CBP. His wife, podcaster Katie Miller, began posting excerpts from the same reporting on X, amplifying his defense as criticism mounted.
Stephen Miller’s wife is putting in a late shift tonight trying to save his job. https://t.co/UxfROWNNP1
— Governor Newsom Press Office (@GovPressOffice) January 28, 2026
Newsom’s team did not let that pass either. “Stephen Miller’s wife is putting in a late shift tonight trying to save his job,” the governor’s press office wrote.
The public sniping comes just weeks after Miller and Noem were seen together at Trump’s New Year’s Eve party at Mar-a-Lago, an image that now feels out of step with the open finger-pointing that followed.
For Newsom, the episode offered comedy gold. The Democratic governor continues to watch a Republican administration argue over who said what, when, and why — while the facts of the shooting continue to raise questions no one inside the White House seems eager to own.
