Trump says phone call with Minnesota Gov Tim Walz was 'very good' despite enforcement tensions

WASHINGTON, DC: President Donald Trump said on Monday, January 26, that he had a “very good” phone call with Minnesota Gov Tim Walz, describing the conversation as constructive and cooperative despite recent tensions over federal enforcement actions in the state.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump said Walz reached out to request that they work together on issues facing Minnesota and that both leaders “want to make it better.”

“Governor Tim Walz called me with the request to work together with respect to Minnesota,” Trump wrote. “It was a very good call, and we actually seemed to be on a similar wavelength.”

Trump says Tim Walz understands federal enforcement priorities

Trump said that he told Tim Walz that White House Border Czar Tom Homan would contact him directly, emphasizing that the administration’s priority was identifying and detaining criminals already in state custody.

“I told Governor Walz that I would have Tom Homan call him, and that what we are looking for are any and all criminals that they have in their possession,” Trump said, adding that Walz “very respectfully, understood that.”

Trump said that he expects to speak with the governor again soon and noted that Walz was “happy” about Homan’s deployment to Minnesota.

Trump announces Tom Homan's new role in Minnesota

Earlier on Monday, Trump announced that Homan would be dispatched to Minnesota to assume direct oversight of federal operations in the state, marking a significant escalation in Washington’s response to protests following the Minneapolis shooting and other confrontations between federal agents and demonstrators.

In a Truth Social post, Trump said that Homan would arrive “tonight” to oversee Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations and coordinate with officials investigating what the administration described as widespread financial fraud.

Trump described Homan as an official who “knows and likes many of the people there” and said he would “report directly to me,” effectively bypassing traditional chains of command.

White House confirms expanded role of Tom Homan

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed the deployment in a post on X, saying that Homan would be “managing ICE operations on the ground in Minnesota” with a mandate to arrest the “worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens.”

Leavitt added that Homan’s responsibilities would extend beyond immigration enforcement, noting that he would also coordinate with officials leading financial crime investigations.

While Trump acknowledged that Homan “has not been involved in that area” previously, the administration is positioning him as the central authority for restoring order.

Despite reported internal tensions within the administration, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem publicly welcomed Homan’s deployment, calling it “good news” in a post on X.

“I have worked closely with Tom over the last year and he has been a major asset to our team,” Noem wrote.

“His experience and insight will help us in our wide-scale fraud investigations, which have robbed Americans, and will help us to remove even more public safety threats and violent criminal illegal aliens off the streets of Minneapolis,” she added.