Trump fires DHS Secretary Kristi Noem in fallout of her Senate hearing
Facing criticism for how she handled a Senate testimony, President Donald Trump fired Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem Thursday. She served in the pivotal role as a loyalist to Trump, supporting the president’s deportation and larger immigration goals.
Trump made the announcement official in a Thursday Truth Social post, adding that Sen. Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma will assume the position on March 31. He added that Noem will become the special envoy for the Shield of the Americas, a newly-created security initiative Trump said would be announced on Saturday.
“Markwayne will work tirelessly to Keep our Border Secure, Stop Migrant Crime, Murderers, and other Criminals from illegally entering our Country, End the Scourge of Illegal Drugs and, MAKE AMERICA SAFE AGAIN,” he wrote.
Senators questioned Noem earlier in the week about how she’s led the department in the past year. Homeland Security has become a major focus as Trump sought for the increased deportations and it has acquired warehouses to revamp its detention model.
The Wednesday Senate hearing was Noem’s first since the killings of 37-year-olds Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis. Lawmakers on both sides zeroed in on how she has led the department through the two shootings and reported arrests of U.S. citizens.
U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., has called for her resignation since January and used the Wednesday hearing to press Noem about a passage in her memoir where she wrote killing a family pet was a reflection of strong leadership through tough choices.
“You decided to kill that dog because you had not invested the appropriate time in training,” he said, “and then you have the audacity to go into a book and say it’s a leadership lesson about tough choices.”
The South Dakotan entered the role in January 2025, immediately joining officers for a raid in New York City that targeted people she claimed to be connected to drug cartels and gangs.
“Everything I’ve done, I’ve done at the direction of the president and Stephen (Miller),” Axios reported Noem saying.
Since Nov. 30, ICE and CBP have detained 65,735 people.
Criticism on both sides
Prior to her firing, Noem faced mounting calls from Democrats and Republicans to either be fired, impeached or to resign.
Much of the criticism focused on Good and Pretti’s killing during Operation Metro Surge by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection officers, and Noem’s leadership throughout it.
Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska called for Noem’s resignation, criticizing the 54-year-old for carrying out “amateurish” decision-making.
Democrats threatened action if Trump didn’t. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said in a January statement on X that if Trump didn’t fire her, “Democrats will initiate impeachment proceedings.”
Impeachment is a tough strategy as it first requires a simple majority in the House to vote — 218 members — in favor of impeachment articles. After that, the Senate can hold an impeachment trial with the U.S. Supreme Court chief justice presiding.
Once the trial finishes, if at least two-thirds of the Senate — or 66 Senators — vote in favor of finding the person guilty, they’re removed from office and disqualified from serving in a public office forever.
South Dakota to Immigration head
Trump picked Noem shortly after winning the 2024 Presidential Election to lead the Department of Homeland Security. He noted in a statement that she was strong on border security and would “guarantee that our American Homeland is secure from our adversaries,” CNN reported in 2024.
Before the nod, Noem served two terms as South Dakota’s governor — the first woman to hold such office. In the run up to the seat, she served in the state’s at-large seat in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2011 to 2019. Prior to Congress, she served in the state’s House of Representatives from 2007 to 2011.
Noem was described by many as a Trump loyalist, setting her apart from Kistjen Nielsen, who served in Noem’s role during Trump’s first administration from 2017 to 2019. Trump asked for Nielsen’s resignation as their ideas on how to secure the southern border strayed further away from one another, The New York Times reported in 2019.
One particular issue was migrant crossings increasing, which Trump wanted to halt by closing ports of entry and refusing to accept asylum seekers. Nielsen disagreed with that strategy and was asked to leave.
Noem, on the other hand, has long campaigned and voted for stricter immigration laws during her gubernatorial and congressional bids.
“Illegal immigration must come to an end,” Noem said in a July 2010 statement regarding a since-failed effort by Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., to limit former President Barack Obama from suing to invalidate Arizona’s controversial immigration law. “Since the federal government has failed in its leadership on this issue it is not surprising that states have stepped up and are working to enforce the law and secure the border.”
Noem spars with Indigenous tribes, book passage
She faced controversies during her time as governor. Most notably, The Guardian obtained a copy of Noem’s book where she admitted to needing to kill her dog Cricket.
The passage, she wrote, described her willingness to do anything that could be “difficult, messy and ugly” if the need arises, The Guardian wrote in 2024. She took Cricket out on hunting trips and sought to train the dog to have a more calm demeanor, but instead, it killed a neighbor’s chickens after one hunt.
She called Cricket “the picture of pure joy” while also adding that she hated the wirehair pointer. Noem wrote she had to put down Cricket and it wasn’t pleasant, but necessary. She killed a goat her family owned as well.
The governor drew swift criticism and was the subject of many satirical jokes, including a Saturday Night Live skit. Noem posted a screenshot of The Guardian article on X and said that her family loves animals, “but tough decisions like this happen all the time on a farm.”
That same year, all nine tribal nations located in South Dakota banned Noem from their lands after she accused leaders of benefiting from drug cartels and said Indigenous children “don’t have any hope,” according to left-leaning local news outlet South Dakota Searchlight. The Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe lifted its ban last January before Noems’ confirmation.
Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
