WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Thursday night spoke less about the performance of Homeland Security Secretary Kristy Noem and Sen. Markwayne has advised Mullin on his elevation to a cabinet post.
In his first public comments since firing Noem, Trump was complimentary of his year-plus tenure, but he also praised Mullin, R-Okla.
“She’s a good person. She’s done a good job. I’m a big fan of the senator from Oklahoma. It wasn’t a hard choice,” Trump said in a phone call with NBC News.
He dismissed the idea that there was a “last straw” regarding Noem’s performance and instead praised her management of boundaries.
However, Trump criticized Noem during her exchange with the Republican senator this week, when asked during congressional testimony about her role in approving the deals, particularly a $220 million ad campaign encouraging immigrants to self-deport.
“I wasn’t thrilled with it. I spent less than that to be president. I didn’t know about that,” Trump said.
Sen. Noem, who faced scrutiny after federal officers shot and killed two US citizens during an immigration enforcement operation in Minneapolis, spoke about the campaign in a Senate hearing. John Kennedy, R-La.
He told Kennedy that Trump was aware of his decision to approve a pricey ad campaign, contracts that went out through a process that limited competitive bidding.
NBC News previously reported that Noem’s criticism of the ad campaign on Capitol Hill played a role in Trump’s decision to switch positions.
He faced other questions from lawmakers, including whether slain US citizens Alex Pretty and Renee Goode were “domestic terrorists” (which he denied) and whether he would withdraw wrongful arrests by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, part of DHS.
Noem remains in the Trump administration in a new role as “Ambassador for America’s Shield.” Trump described it on social media as a position to lead “our new security initiative in the Western Hemisphere.”
