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President Donald Trump fired his embattled Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on Thursday after growing criticism of her leadership of the department, including her handling of the administration’s immigration crackdown and disaster relief.
Trump, who said he would nominate Oklahoma Republican Sen. Markwayne Mullin in her place, made the announcement on social media Thursday, two days after Noem faced criticism from both Republican colleagues and Democrats on Capitol Hill.
Trump said he would appoint Noem as “special envoy for The Shield of the Americas,” a new security initiative that he said would focus on the Western Hemisphere.
Noem took the stage to speak at a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) event shortly after Trump’s announcement, but did not immediately mention her ouster. Instead, she read from prepared remarks in which, among other things, she reiterated Trump’s message from last month’s State of the Union address.
She later thanked Trump for the new appointment in a social media post and praised her accomplishments as secretary. “We have achieved historic successes at the Department of Homeland Security to make America safe again,” she wrote.
Noem is the first Cabinet secretary to be reassigned during Trump’s second term. Her departure caps a turbulent tenure in which she oversaw immigration enforcement tactics that were met with protests and lawsuits.
She faced criticism in January when she quickly labeled two U.S. citizens fatally shot by immigration agents in Minneapolis as perpetrators of “domestic terrorism.” Videos that emerged after the deaths bolster claims by Noem and other Trump officials that the two people who died — Renee Good and Alex Pretti — were violent aggressors.
During her testimony before Congress on Tuesday, U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem refused to retract or apologize for her January comments that two U.S. citizens were shot dead by immigration officials in Minneapolis as domestic terrorists. Reports from local officials and videos from bystanders contradicted her comments. Noem’s hearing was interrupted at times by screaming protesters.
Strong criticism from both sides
The public reaction to the deaths led the Trump administration in Minnesota to move to a “more targeted approach to immigration enforcement” after months of raids in U.S. cities that led to violent “clashes with residents” who opposed the crackdown.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz welcomed Noem’s dismissal of her post on social media, saying she had caused “astonishing damage.” However, he added that this does not change the fact that he believes a major overhaul of DHS is necessary given what is happening in his state.
Kristi Noem caused an incredible amount of damage and it’s good that she’s gone.
But that doesn’t change the fact that we need a complete overhaul of DHS, impartial investigations into the killings of two American citizens, and information about children abducted from Minnesota.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey wrote “Good riddance” on social media, while Democratic Sen. Tina Smith of Minnesota said in a statement that Noem’s firing was welcome but came too late.
“Firing Kristi Noem will not bring Alex Pretti back. It will not bring Renee Good back. It will not bring Minnesota back to health after the horror and devastation that Operation Metro Surge brought upon us,” she wrote.
Noem faced intense criticism from Democrats and some Republicans in congressional hearings this week on these and other issues.
The former South Dakota governor has also faced criticism over the way her department spent the billions of dollars allocated to it by Congress.
One particular point of scrutiny was a $220 million advertising campaign with Noem that encouraged people in the country illegally to leave the country voluntarily.
Noem told lawmakers that Trump knew about the campaign in advance, but Trump denied that in an interview with Reuters on Thursday and said he did not approve the ad campaign.
Aside from the immigration issue, Noem has also faced criticism, including from Republicans, over the pace of emergency funding approved by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and over the Trump administration’s response to disasters.
Mullin would need to be confirmed by the Senate, but under a federal law that regulates vacancies in the executive branch, he would be allowed to serve as acting Homeland Security secretary while his nomination is officially pending.
Liam Ramos, 5, and his father returned to Minneapolis more than a week after they were arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, sparking more protests. Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump now says ICE will only be sent to cities run by Democrats if they ask for it.
The personnel change raises the question of whether the Trump administration might seek to step up its mass deportations or retreat to a more targeted approach.
Under Noem’s leadership, masked immigration agents stormed into Los Angeles, Chicago and Washington, D.C., scouring neighborhoods and Home Depot parking lots in search of possible immigration crimes.
The popularity of Trump’s approach to immigration plummeted as agents detained U.S. citizens and tear-gassed streets to boost deportations, which last year fell short of the administration’s goal of 1 million a year.
Mullin, who spent a decade in the U.S. House of Representatives before becoming a senator in 2023, supports Trump’s tough immigration agenda.
