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Nebraska Sen. Pete Ricketts called the fatal shooting of Minnesota man Alex Pretti by U.S. Border Patrol agents a “horrifying situation” and said he expects a “prioritized, transparent investigation” as lawmakers from both parties disagree on what that should entail.
On Sunday, NPR reported Minnesota officials and lawmakers criticized the federal government for limiting state access to evidence and urging a broader, transparent process. The call for Minnesota’s involvement in the investigation has since been echoed by other Senate and House Democrats.
When asked whether independent or state investigators should be included to ensure a transparent investigation, Ricketts implied that federal investigations take precedent over state and local authorities, referencing his experience as governor.
“As governor, one of the things that when you have a federal investigation, that typically means that you're preempting the state and local,” Ricketts said. “My understanding is that not only will Customs and Border Protection be doing the investigation, but also the FBI.”
Ricketts reaffirmed his stance on a “transparent” investigation, stating that the investigation should continue.
“Any time there's a law enforcement shooting, there's going to be an investigation. And we should allow that investigation to take its course. We should be transparent. We should make sure it's prioritized. People want to know the answer to it. But we should also make sure that investigation is done.”
On Wednesday, the Department of Homeland Security announced that the two Border Patrol agents involved in the Pretti shooting have been put on administrative leave, which the department said is standard procedure.
The senator said despite the shooting of Pretti, he fully supports the Trump administration and Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, whom he voted to confirm in the Senate more than a year ago.
“I fully support the administration and the people who were put in place, including Secretary Noem. Obviously, Stephen Miller works at the discretion of the president, but Kristi Noem was somebody that we confirmed it in the U.S. Senate,” he said. “If you are looking at the job she's doing in Homeland Security, it's a big job. And we have done a lot to be able to secure the border.”
Ricketts also discussed the looming partial government shutdown, which may have become more likely due to Senate Democrats moving to block Department of Homeland Security funding after Pretti’s death. He said that by blocking DHS funding, Democrats may be blocking some DHS funding they support.
“In this Department of Homeland Security package, there are things such as money for body cameras for ICE agents, money for deescalation training and money for an inspector general, all things that I would expect the Democrats would want to support.”
He also highlighted other groups that could be affected if the bill isn't passed, including the Coast Guard, TSA agents and FEMA aid.
Future of E15
The recently passed House final appropriations bill excluded a provision expanding E15 gasoline access, something Ricketts and the rest of the Nebraska Congressional delegation support.
In the conference call, Ricketts said he was not involved in communication with House leadership and did not have an explanation as to why the provision was not included.
“The E15 was not included in the Senate bill because it was passed in the House, and the House took it out before they sent it over to us. I was not a part of those conversations with leadership over in the House, so I don't know why it was taken out of the House bill. It was originally slated to be in there, and then it was sent over here without it.”
Ricketts said he will continue working with colleagues to find a way to make year-round E15 use happen.
“We're going to continue to work to find a vehicle for E15 all year round. The president has endorsed it. That's a good thing for Nebraska farmers, especially right now,” he said. “The farm economy is really tough, Commodity prices -- especially for recorded soybeans -- are really low, Input costs are very high. It's meaning that farmers are losing money on every acre that they're planting, and E15 all year round is just a commonsense idea.”