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By Ryan Faircloth

Alex Kormann/The Minnesota Star Tribune

Good morning. Democrats in Minnesota are pushing to prohibit law enforcement from covering their faces following the federal immigration crackdown known as Operation Metro Surge, which led to the deaths of two U.S. citizens and violent confrontations between masked agents and protesters, my colleague Allison Kite writes.

Recent polling has shown that federal agents' use of masks is broadly unpopular with the public. Even so, Republicans at the Minnesota Capitol are pushing back on the DFL's efforts to ban masks, arguing that uncovering agents' faces could lead to threats and harassment.

“ICE officers are being doxxed, assaulted, harassed,” said Rep. Elliott Engen, R-Lino Lakes, in a recent House committee hearing. “Opening them up to that, more of that — it’s not a smart bill.”

The measure has already been voted down by House Republicans, making its path uncertain this session.

Democrats note that officers from other federal, state and local law enforcement agencies don't shield their identities. The bill includes exceptions for undercover officers and for individuals wearing masks for medical or religious purposes.

Sen. Lindsey Port, DFL-Burnsville, said she was disappointed by the reception the bill got in a committee hearing.

“Among Minnesotans, I think it’s a pretty shared idea that we don’t want secret police, that we don’t have secret police and we shouldn’t,” said Port, who sponsored the Senate bill. “But I guess what is bipartisan in Minnesota is not always bipartisan at the Legislature.” Read more.

In Washington, Noem refuses to apologize. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem was asked several times on Tuesday to apologize for calling two Minnesotans domestic terrorists after they were shot and killed by federal agents during Operation Metro Surge. But during more than four hours of questioning in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Noem refused, my colleague Sydney Kashiwagi reports.

“I certainly offer my condolences to these families and for their loss and it was a tragic situation that we saw in Minneapolis,” Noem said.

Pressed by Democratic U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar to apologize to Alex Pretti's family for her remarks, Noem said: “I did not call [Pretti] a domestic terrorist. I said it appeared to be an incident of."

“I think that his parents saw it for what it was,” Klobuchar responded. Read more.

GOP governor candidate names running mate. Retired health care executive Kendall Qualls announced Tuesday that he selected Brian Nicholson, a local manufacturing company CEO, as his running mate. Neither Qualls, who is one of the leading contenders for the GOP nomination, nor Nicholson have ever held elected office. Qualls said he met Nicholson in October and described the pairing as “two men from the business world who are tired of watching the political class fail our state.”

“For more than a decade now, those of us outside the political establishment have been warning elected officials as well as the media that the quality of life in Minnesota has been declining significantly,” Qualls said. “The political class, including members of our own political party here in the Republican Party, continue to respond with status quo solutions and status quo candidates.” Read more.

Gov. Tim Walz is in Washington, D.C., today. He will testify before the U.S. House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. Follow our coverage of the hearing live.

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Minnesota House DFL lawmakers will hold a news conference at 10 a.m. announcing their affordability agenda.