WASHINGTON — President Trump announced Thursday that he is firing Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in the first cabinet shakeup of his second term — naming Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) as his nominee to fill the role.
Trump announced the move after two major flubs by Noem in her testimony before Congress this week. She failed to outright deny an affair with a subordinate. And she told Congress that the president approved $220 million in ads featuring herself, including one of her on horseback at Mount Rushmore. Trump accused her of lying before canning her.
“I am pleased to announce that the Highly Respected United States Senator from the Great State of Oklahoma, Markwayne Mullin, will become the United States Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS), effective March 31, 2026,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
“The current Secretary, Kristi Noem, who has served us well, and has had numerous and spectacular results (especially on the Border!), will be moving to be Special Envoy for The Shield of the Americas, our new Security Initiative in the Western Hemisphere we are announcing on Saturday in Doral, Florida. I thank Kristi for her service at ‘Homeland.’”
Trump dedicated the remainder of his statement to praising Mullin.
Noem, 54, faced withering bipartisan grilling by senators Tuesday and by the House on Wednesday.
Neither appearance went well for her.
The former South Dakota governor stunningly declined to deny having “sexual relations” with her top aide, Corey Lewandowski, couldn’t say if he received any ad proceeds and denied that he approved contracts — despite significant evidence that he had.
The shocking questions about her sex life came as her husband, Bryon, made a rare public appearance to support her during her testimony. He had left the hearing by the time Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-Calif.) bluntly asked Noem: “Have you had sexual relations with Corey Lewandowski?”
“I am shocked that we’re going down and peddling tabloid garbage in this committee today,” Noem said in response. “I would tell you is that he is a special government employee who works for the White House. There are thousands of them in the federal government.”
Another lawmaker gave her chance to directly deny the allegation but Noem responded: “I think the ridiculousness of this and the tabloids that you are quoting and referencing are insane.”
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“You say conservative women are stupid or sluts. I am neither,” she added.
Additionally, she fatally testified to Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) that Trump approved a series of ads that prominently featured herself. Some of the money flowed to a firm run by the husband of Noem’s then-spokeswoman.
One ad famously featured Noem on horse-back, riding in front of the iconic Mount Rushmore, which sits in her home state of South Dakota.
And her voice-over featured tough words: “You cross the border illegally, we’ll find you. Break our laws, we’ll punish. You harm American citizens, there will be consequences. But if you come here the right way, your American dream can be as big as these endless guys. From President Trump and me, welcome home.”
Kennedy quizzed her about the ad campaign.
Here’s the latest on the firing of Kristi Noem
“How do you square that with the fact that you have spent $220 million running television advertisements that feature you prominently?” the senator asked.
Noem replied, “Sir, the president tasked me with getting the message out to the country and to other countries with putting commercials out that if they were in the country illegally, that they needed to leave.”
But Trump claimed no knowledge of them.
“I never knew anything about it,” Trump told Reuters moments before he fired Noem.
Kennedy told CBS on Thursday morning that he spoke with Trump and that “put it this way, his recollection and her recollection are different.”
The secretary was the subject of widespread criticism in January after leading a deportation campaign in Minneapolis that resulted in federal agents killing two activists, prompting Trump to put her internal rival, border czar Tom Homan, in charge of calming tensions.
After she survived that period, even Noem’s detractors expected her to remain in the cabinet until after the November midterm elections due to Trump’s “no scalps” policy of avoiding firings after his first term was consumed with nonstop speculation about which official might get axed next.
Noem appeared totally unfazed by her termination as she spoke to law enforcement officers in Nashville, Tenn., shortly afterward.
“As long as this world is fractured and as long as human nature has fallen, we will need brave men and women who step up and serve and enforce our rights and our laws and our values. And that’s what all of you do in this room with your colleagues,” she told the group.
Ex-Secretary Kristi Noem’s most memorable photo ops during her tenure at DHS:
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She later tweeted: “Thank you [President] Trump for appointing me as the Special Envoy for the Shield of the Americas. [Secretary of State Marco Rubio and War Secretary Pete Hegseth] 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.”
“The Western Hemisphere is absolutely critical for U.S. security,” Noem wrote. “In this new role, I will be able to build on the partnerships and national security expertise, I forged over the last 13 months as Secretary of Homeland Security.”
Trump has made few major staffing shuffles since reclaiming power last January — generally framing them as “promotions.”
His first national security adviser, Mike Waltz, was made US ambassador to the United Nations after accidentally adding an anti-Trump journalist to a Signal group chat about airstrikes on Yemen.
In another soft landing, Trump’s first personnel director Sergio Gor was named ambassador to India after helping spark an epic falling-out between Trump and Elon Musk while dragging his feet on submitting background check paperwork and misleadingly claiming to be “from” Malta.
Trump said that Mullin would continue his administration’s progress.
“A MAGA Warrior, and former undefeated professional MMA fighter, Markwayne truly gets along well with people, and knows the Wisdom and Courage required to Advance our America First Agenda,” Trump wrote.
“As the only Native American in the Senate, Markwayne is a fantastic advocate for our incredible Tribal Communities. 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.”
