Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said yesterday that things are looking up following weeks of protest and resistance to the administration’s immigration crackdown in Minneapolis and that the Republicans’ “house of cards” could soon collapse.

“It’s been an especially bleak couple of days since we learned of the killing of Alex Pretti in Minnesota,” Buttigieg said in a video posted to social media, referring to the intensive care nurse who was shot ten times by U.S. Border Patrol agents in Minneapolis this past weekend.

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Pretti stood between an agent and a woman whom the agent had pushed, which caused agents to pepper-spray him and wrestle him to the ground. After he was subdued, agents shot him to death in an act of senseless brutality caught in multiple videos. The administration defended killing Pretti before an investigation had been conducted.

“But during that time, even just in the last few hours, we have seen some of the strongest proof yet that you are not powerless,” Buttigieg continued, pointing out that Republicans in Congress are calling for investigations into the administration’s actions, something that was unimaginable even earlier this month. This includes Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX) and Sens. Thom Tillis (R-NC), Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Susan Collins (R-ME), and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK). The administration has resisted attempts to let state law enforcement investigate the deaths of Pretti and queer mom Renee Good.

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“A top commander of Customs and Border Control has just been sidelined,” Buttiigeg continued, referring to how Greg Bovino, the “commander at large” of Border Patrol who led anti-immigration operations in LA, Chicago, and Minneapolis, lost his job yesterday in the aftermath of Pretti’s death.

“The president himself is showing signs of doing the one thing he claims he’ll never do, which is back down,” Buttigieg continued. “All of this is showing that political pressure works, and it proves that you don’t have to wait until election day to apply that kind of pressure and get results.”

“I know that it can seem like the shamelessness and the ruthlessness of the people in charge give them a big advantage, but they have a massive disadvantage as well, which is that many of them know that what they’re a part of is wrong,” he concluded. “And the sooner they might feel like they’ll have to answer for it one day, the sooner this house of cards will fall.”

Amid these dark moments, something important is beginning to shift. It's clearly the result of healthy political pressure – which we must sustain, and build.

— Pete Buttigieg (@petebuttigieg.bsky.social) 2026-01-27T03:05:52.076Z

People on Bluesky reacted with hope to Buttigieg’s message, but also expressed frustration towards Congressional Democrats.

Pete is so good at saying it.

— Glen Burbidge (@gburbidg.bsky.social) 2026-01-27T05:54:11.344Z

Now is the time to press harder. Right now, Democrats are wasting an opportunity to maybe get the GOP to kill the filibuster. The filibuster has given us a non-functioning Congress and should’ve died long ago. No CR, at all. Not the last two times, not this time.

— Don Kronenberger (@donkronenberger.bsky.social) 2026-01-27T03:07:20.504Z

Demand to know the names of the CBP and ICE agents involved in Saturday's murder. Demand to know the names of those who fired their weapons and killed him.

— Matt in KS (@mrg785.bsky.social) 2026-01-27T03:11:04.885Z

Convince the Dems in Congress. They're the ones who will give up, not the people.

— Magess (@magess.secretive.name) 2026-01-27T03:10:56.601Z

Alex Pretti was a good man. His murder is resulting in the fascists seeing there is a massive resistance against their crimes.Never forget the plans to release these ICE thugs on the population were drawn up by Heritage foundation, and the billionaires and corporations that fund them.

— Mike Maguire (@mike-m1967.bsky.social) 2026-01-27T05:54:59.470Z

I live for the day

— (@vallirose.bsky.social) 2026-01-27T03:46:24.722Z

I just can’t fathom how Republicans can just sit on their hands and watch our Democracy get torn apart like the West Wing. I know they want a Christian Nationalist oligarchy but that’s NOT IN THE CONSTITUTION. It’s a damn shame that our 250 year Anniversary of Democracy is a MOCKERY.

— Kenobi (@fishyonekenobi.bsky.social) 2026-01-27T03:58:33.265Z

They break under enough pressure, keep it coming!

— @Boom-WhatsGoingOn.bsky.social (@boom-whatsgoingon.bsky.social) 2026-01-27T04:42:11.653Z

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