Kristi Noem has been fired. President Donald Trump announced the news in a Truth Social post on Thursday, writing that Noem had “served us well” as the secretary of Homeland Security and “had numerous and spectacular results (especially on the Border!).” However, that is not enough to keep your job, especially if you’re just coming off of a combative congressional hearing that really ticked off your boss.
On Tuesday, Noem went before Congress and said under oath that Trump was aware she had approved a $220 million ad campaign encouraging immigrants to self-report. The ads, reportedly made by a firm that had ties to the husband of Noem’s former spokesperson, starred the DHS secretary in a cowboy hat while on horseback at the base of Mt. Rushmore. During the hearing, Noem was also asked about her alleged relationship with former Trump adviser Corey Lewandowski — she refused to answer a question about whether the relationship was sexual, accusing the committee of “peddling tabloid garbage.”
On Thursday, just hours before Noem was officially fired, NBC News reported that the president was not pleased with Noem’s comments and was considering giving her the boot. “I can assure you, he is not happy with her,” one source said. “She did horrible in the hearings and has made a lot of errors.”
Speaking to Reuters on Thursday, Trump himself denied Noem’s claim that he was aware of the ad campaign. “I never knew anything about it,” he said.
Noem is not leaving the Trump universe entirely. The president said on Truth Social that she’s going to be special envoy for the Shield of the Americas. What is that? According to Trump’s post, the Shield of the Americas is “our new Security Initiative in the Western Hemisphere,” which is getting announced this weekend. Whatever it is, Noem will be working there as special envoy. It remains unclear if her rumored extramarital boyfriend, Lewandowski, will follow her.
Wasting no time, Trump announced in the same Truth Social post that he wants Noem to be replaced by Senator Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma at the end of the month. You might be familiar with Mullin from his recent comments on the “smell” and “taste” of war, despite his having never served in the military. Or maybe you saw him say, “This is war,” about the U.S. strikes in Iran, only to immediately backtrack to “We haven’t declared war.” He explained that his original comment was “a misspoke.” So, we’ve got another sharp mind to lead DHS.
Noem, who was taking questions at a livestreamed press conference in Nashville when Trump announced her ousting, shared a statement on X a few hours later. “Thank you @POTUS Trump for appointing me as the Special Envoy for the Shield of the Americas,” Noem wrote. “@SecRubio and @SecWar are incredible leaders and I look forward to working with them closely to dismantle cartels that have poured drugs into our nation and killed our children and grandchildren.”
She sounds pretty excited about her demotion.
This post has been updated.