Updated January 26, 2026 at 5:32 PM EST
Chris Madel, a Republican candidate for governor of Minnesota and the lawyer representing the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer who fatally shot Renee Macklin Good, has dropped out of the state's gubernatorial race, saying he no longer stands for the immigration crackdown happening in Minneapolis.
"I cannot support the national Republicans' stated retribution on the citizens of our state, nor can I count myself a member of a party that would do so," Madel said in a nearly 11-minute video posted to X on Monday.
It's the latest rebuke of the Trump administration's handling of the escalating political unrest in the city, just two days after intensive care nurse Alex Pretti was shot and killed by a federal agent during protests over the weekend. Both Pretti and Good were U.S. citizens and 37 years old.
Despite originally supporting ICE's effort in the city, known as Operation Metro Surge, Madel called it "an unmitigated disaster" in his video, arguing it had "expanded far beyond its stated focus on true public safety threats."
"United States citizens, particularly those of color, live in fear," he added. "United States citizens are carrying papers to prove their citizenship. That's wrong."
Madel, a political newcomer, announced his bid for governor in December, vowing to make supporting law enforcement a priority of his campaign. He told the Minnesota Star Tribune earlier this month that he was providing legal counsel for the ICE agent who shot Good and that it did not change his political ambitions.
Despite Madel's exit from the race, there's still a crowded field of GOP candidates vying to lead Minnesota, a state that hasn't elected a Republican governor in roughly 20 years. Several candidates still in the race have not criticized the administration over ICE practices, while others have voiced continued support for the federal response.
The Minnesota gubernatorial race garnered national attention after the state's current governor, Democrat Tim Walz, announced he would no longer seek a third term amid blowback from the White House over his oversight of alleged social service fraud in the state.
The fraud scandal unfolded as Minneapolis was already quickly becoming the center of a political fight between President Trump and Minnesota Democrats over the state's immigration laws and practices.
Both fatal shootings of Good and Pretti this month have further intensified that fight. But it also prompted several national Republicans to call for the Trump administration to cooperate with state and local authorities after shutting them out in both investigations.
"The events in Minneapolis are incredibly disturbing," Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., said in a statement on Saturday. "The credibility of ICE and DHS are at stake. There must be a full joint federal and state investigation. We can trust the American people with the truth."
Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., echoed those calls for a federal-state probe, adding that "any administration official who rushes to judgment and tries to shut down an investigation before it begins are doing an incredible disservice to the nation and to President Trump's legacy."
Administration officials have claimed that Pretti — who had a lawful permit to carry a handgun — was a "domestic terrorist," and defended the response by federal agents as self-defense. However, footage captured in bystander videos and witness accounts contradicts that argument, and there has been no evidence that NPR has verified of Pretti brandishing his handgun at any time during the encounter with federal agents.
"Lawfully carrying a firearm does not justify federal agents killing an American—especially, as video footage appears to show, after the victim had been disarmed," Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, said in a statement Sunday.
"A comprehensive, independent investigation of the shooting must be conducted in order to rebuild trust and Congressional committees need to hold hearings and do their oversight work" she added. "ICE agents do not have carte blanche in carrying out their duties."
Oklahoma Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt expressed concern about the administration's handling of the situation in Minneapolis, telling CNN in an interview Sunday that the president was "getting bad advice."
"President Trump closed the border, promised to get violent criminals out of our country," Stitt said, adding that while he believes "everybody agrees with that," Americans are unsure about the administration's "endgame."
"What's the goal right now? Is it to deport every single non-U.S. citizen? I don't think that's what Americans want," he said. "We have to stop politicizing this. We need real solutions on immigration reform."
On Monday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt doubled down on the administration's goal of deporting criminals living in the country without legal status, but acknowledged that no one in the White House wants to "see people getting hurt or killed in America's streets."
"This includes Renee Good, Alex Pretti, the brave men and women of federal law enforcement and the many Americans who have been victimized at the hands of illegal alien criminals," she said.
In a post on Truth Social Monday, Trump said that he spoke with Walz and that the two "seemed to be on a similar wavelength" in trying to reduce additional violence in Minneapolis, and said that the two leaders would speak again in the "near future."
Walz also acknowledged a more "cordial" tone with the president in an interview with MPR News on Monday.
"Whatever has happened here, there is a definite change of tone," Walz said. "There is a definitely a more collaborative tone. I want to make sure that I'm not jeopardizing that, that I'm going to take them for their word right now, that they're going to reduce this force."
Walz also said that Greg Bovino, a Border Patrol commander, will be leaving Minnesota.
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