You’re Fired: Trump Ousts Kristi Noem From DHS
President Trump announced the firing of Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on Thursday, while she was speaking on stage in Tennessee. It marks the first Cabinet shake-up of Trump’s second term and caps a year of controversies for Noem while in the role.
Trump will move to replace Noem with Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK), effective at the end of March. Noem responded on X, after leaving the stage, thanking the president and highlighting the work she’s done at DHS.
HER TENURE
The president had reportedly been asking aides and congressional Republicans for names of potential replacements for Noem for a while, with concern over how she was managing the department and overseeing immigration enforcement tactics across the country.
THE FINAL STRAW: Noem had a combative hearing Tuesday before the Senate Judiciary Committee, where both Republican and Democratic lawmakers showed frustration with Noem’s leadership.
Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) criticized Noem over FEMA disaster funding, saying she “failed” and violated the law in handling reimbursements.
Lawmakers also questioned Noem on a multi-million dollar ad campaign featuring herself that urged anyone in the U.S. illegally to deport voluntarily. Noem told the Senate panel that Trump approved the ad campaign, something that he has denied.
Noem is leaving an agency that is currently unfunded. The partial federal government shutdown affecting DHS stems from disputes Democratic lawmakers have over the agency’s handling of immigration enforcement after officers shot and killed two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis earlier this year.
Noem did not retract her claims that Renée Good and Alex Pretti were domestic terrorists when asked Wednesday by Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD).