It Sure Looks Like Minnesota Is the End of the Road for CBP Chief

Customs and Border Patrol Commander-at-Large Greg Bovino may be on his way out after delivering a full-throated defense for killing a U.S. citizen in broad daylight.

Bovino has reportedly been removed from his position as commander-at-large. He will depart Minnesota for his previous post as a border official in El Centro, California, where he is expected to retire shortly afterward, The Atlantic reported Monday night.

The Department of Homeland Security reportedly suspended Bovino’s access to his social media accounts, after he spent most of Sunday responding to people calling out his outlandish claims about Alex Pretti.

DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin claimed Monday night that Bovino had “NOT been relieved of his duties,” in a post on X. But several people pointed out that she did not deny the bulk of the reporting regarding his departure from the organization.

Bovino thoroughly made a mess of the Trump administration’s P.R. response to the latest killing by a federal agent, baselessly claiming that Pretti, a 37-year-old ICU nurse, had intended to harm CBP officers. He also praised his agents, who shot Pretti at least 10 times as he was pinned to the ground, for killing him.

Speaking to CNN’s Dana Bash Sunday, Bovino backed up Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s outrageous claim that Pretti had “brandished” a weapon at a group of officers. Video of the incident showed that he had been filming officers with his cell phone and tried to help a fellow protester who had been pepper-sprayed.

Donald Trump reportedly complained that Bovino and Noem had appeared too “callous” in their television appearances Sunday, which motivated the president to send “border czar” Tom Homan to Minnesota to do damage control.

“[Bovino]’s a cowboy, and it was a mess. It was only escalation, and no one was going to back down,” a source familiar with the operations told Axios. “Homan going is a good thing. Someone needed to step in.”