US President Donald Trump on Thursday fired Kristi Noem as head of the Department of Homeland Security, the agency responsible for carrying out his broad crackdown on immigration.
According to multiple media reports, Trump was upset with Noem’s testimony at a Senate hearing this week, where she said the president had approved a $220 million DHS ad campaign in which she featured prominently.
Trump, in a post on Truth Social, said Markwayne Mullen, a Republican senator from Oklahoma, would replace Noem in the powerful department on March 31.
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The president said Noem, 54, would become his special envoy for a new security initiative in the Western Hemisphere that he called “The Shield of the Americas.”
Noem “has served us well and has had numerous spectacular results (especially at the border!),” Trump said.
Trump described Mullin as a “MAGA Warrior” and said he will be a “spectacular Secretary of Homeland Security.”
Mullin’s nomination will be subject to confirmation by the Senate, where Republicans have a majority.
“Markwayne will work tirelessly to keep our border secure, stop immigration felons, murderers and other criminals from entering our country illegally, end the scourge of illegal drugs and make America safe again,” Trump said.
Deportation policy
The Republican president campaigned for the White House on a promise to expel millions of undocumented immigrants from the United States, and DHS is the primary enforcer of his deportation policy.
Noem came under bipartisan criticism at Tuesday’s Senate hearing on the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.
“Under your leadership, the Department of Homeland Security has been devoid of any moral guidance or respect for the rule of law,” Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., told Noem.
Durbin and other Democrats repeatedly called on Noem to apologize for the deaths of two Americans shot and killed by federal agents in Minnesota during protests against the immigration crackdown and for calling them “domestic terrorists.”
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Sen. Thom Tillis, R-North Carolina, had harsh words about Noem’s tenure at DHS and called for her resignation.
“What we’ve seen is a disaster under his leadership,” Tillis said. “What we’ve seen is innocent people being detained who happen to be American citizens.”
Sen. John Kennedy, R-Louisiana, questioned Noem about the $220 million DHS spent on television ads urging undocumented immigrants to self-deport.
Noem said the advertising campaign had been “effective.”
“They were effective in their name recognition,” Kennedy responded.
Noem has also faced harsh criticism from lawmakers of both parties recently over her handling of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which is part of DHS, including a policy under which she personally approves agency spending of $100,000 or more. Critics say the policy has delayed billions of dollars in disaster reimbursements to states and even delayed emergency response.
Noem has said FEMA “should no longer exist as it is” and has been accused of trying to weaken the agency by delaying reimbursements to states, withholding grant money and cutting staff.
Noem’s firing comes amid a partial DHS shutdown.
Democrats oppose any new funding for DHS until major changes are implemented in the way the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency conducts its operations.
They have demanded reduced patrols, a ban on ICE agents wearing face masks and a requirement to obtain a warrant before entering private property.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP and AP)
