Kristi Noem has been ousted as Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security following several controversies over her leadership, including ICE operations that led to the deaths of U.S. citizens and immigrants in its custody, an alleged affair with a senior Trump official and use of taxpayer dollars to bolster her image and secure millions of dollars in contracts for agencies connected to her political allies.
President Donald Trump announced Noem’s departure on Thursday, just days after rocky congressional hearings in which Noem was grilled by Democrats and Republicans over her leadership. Though the president said Noem “served us well” and thanked her for her service in a Truth Social post, the decision to oust her is seen as a clear rebuke against her performance on Capitol Hill.
Noem was notably pressed by Congress over DHS’s $220 million TV ad that prominently featured her. When asked if President Trump was aware she was spending taxpayer dollars on such an ad campaign, Noem affirmed he did; however, the president later told Reuters, “I never knew anything about it.”
U.S. Rep. Joe Neguse, D-Colo., also pressed Noem over a $143 million contract associated with the pricey ad that went to companies associated with Noem’s political allies.
“There are serious laws implicated; conflict of interest laws [and] federal procurement laws,” Neguse said during a Wednesday hearing on the U.S. House Judiciary Committee. “It is fraud and ultimately I think there’s going to be accountability.”
Noem, who is married, was also grilled over an alleged affair she had with Corey Lewandowski, a longtime advisor to Trump and a DHS advisor. When asked about the long reported allegations by U.S. Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove, D-Calif., Noem refused to deny it outright under oath.
“If someone is asking if you or any federal official is sleeping with their subordinate, you should be wanting to answer that question, because it is not about your sex life, it is about your judgment,” said Kamlager-Dove.
For months, Democrats have been calling for Noem to be either fired or impeached, largely for her leadership over DHS’s immigration enforcement, which led to numerous claims of abuses committed against U.S. citizens and immigrants as part of the Trump administration’s aggressive crackdown on immigration.
The controversy has resulted in a partial shutdown of DHS over its funding, which currently includes record funding for ICE. Part of Democrats’ negotiations with the White House has included making reforms to ICE and removing Noem from office. President Trump announced that he is nominating Markwayne Mullin, U.S. Senator of Oklahoma, to replace Noem on March 31.
Juliana Stratton, the lieutenant governor of Illinois and a Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate who supports abolishing ICE, told theGrio of Noem’s firing, “Good riddance to her.”
However, Stratton, who has alongside Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker condemned the Trump administration’s ICE operation in Chicago, said it “doesn’t matter” who leads DHS in Noem’s absence.
“Whoever it is in charge, ICE needs to be abolished, and the terror must end period,” said the Illinois leader. “We saw up close and personal people getting snatched off the streets by mask agents stuffed into unmarked vehicles, no due process, no warrants, nothing and and they were terrorizing our community.”
While Noem is out of a job at DHS, President Trump said she would instead work as Special Envoy for The Shield of the Americas, a new “security initiative” in the Western Hemisphere.
Ironically, at the time of Trump’s announcement, Noem was speaking live at a conference for law enforcement officers. During her remarks, Noem’s discussed her upcoming schedule, seemingly unaware that she was fired.
