Command Palette

Search for a command to run...

Browse

Trump Fires DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, Nominates Sen. Markwayne Mullin as Successor

No image

President Donald Trump fired Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on Thursday, March 5, and said he would nominate Sen. Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma as her replacement, ending a turbulent tenure defined by aggressive immigration enforcement and deepening oversight battles. The move followed two days of bruising congressional hearings and mounting bipartisan criticism over a $220 million border advertising campaign and alleged obstruction of the department’s inspector general.nbcnews +2

Noem, a former South Dakota governor and a central face of Trump’s second‑term immigration crackdown, was simultaneously reassigned to a newly created role as “Special Envoy for The Shield of the Americas,” a hemispheric security initiative the White House framed as a promotion.theguardian +1 Her exit made her the first Cabinet secretary ousted in Trump’s current term and came as Senate Democrats continued to block a stalled Homeland Security funding bill, keeping the 250,000‑employee department operating without full appropriations for nearly three weeks.nytimes +1

Ad Campaign Fallout and Oversight Clashes

The immediate trigger for Noem’s firing was her testimony before Senate and House Judiciary committees on March 3–4, where lawmakers from both parties pressed her on a $220 million border security ad campaign that prominently featured her and steered large contracts to Republican‑linked firms.nbcnews +2 Reuters reported that two companies, Safe America Media and People Who Think, received $143 million and $77 million respectively, while a smaller subcontract went to a firm tied to a former DHS spokeswoman.politico

Noem told lawmakers the president had approved the campaign, but Trump later told Reuters, “I never knew anything about it,” denying he had signed off on the spending.politico The hearings unfolded against the backdrop of a March 2 letter from DHS Inspector General Joseph Cuffari accusing the department of “systematically obstructing” oversight by denying access to data in at least 11 instances.nytimes Sen. Richard Blumenthal said Noem’s removal “doesn’t absolve her or relieve her of potential liability for perjury,” vowing to pursue an investigation into her testimony on the contracts and role of outside advisers.nytimes

What Mullin’s Nomination Means for Border and Enforcement Policy

Trump’s choice of Mullin, a staunch ally who has backed hard‑line border measures and the expansion of physical barriers, signaled continuity rather than a reversal of the administration’s immigration agenda.cnn +1 Under Noem, DHS deported about 605,000 people in the administration’s first year—well short of the stated goal of up to 1 million removals annually but significantly higher than in previous years—and aggressively expanded high‑visibility raids and interior enforcement operations.theguardian +1

Critics pointed to human‑rights concerns as a defining feature of Noem’s tenure, citing a sharp rise in deaths in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody—32 in 2025 and nine more since January 2026, compared with an average of about seven per year under President Biden—as well as controversial detention sites like the $1.2 billion Camp East Montana complex.nytimes Immigrant‑rights groups and Senate Democrats, who have demanded statutory limits on enforcement tactics as a condition for renewing DHS funding, argued that a personnel change at the top will not alter the underlying policies they say “marked one of the most corrupt, reckless and disgraceful chapters” at the department.nytimes +1

The Bigger Picture

Noem’s removal capped weeks of escalating pressure from senior White House aides, Republicans worried about political fallout, and Democrats who had long branded her leadership a “disaster.”washingtonpost +1 Yet with Mullin poised for a relatively smooth confirmation in a Republican‑controlled Senate and negotiations over DHS funding now focused on guardrails for ICE and Border Patrol, the shake‑up appeared more likely to recalibrate Trump’s political exposure than to reshape the administration’s approach to immigration and border enforcement.nytimes +1 The real test, lawmakers from both parties suggested, will be whether the next secretary changes how power is used inside DHS—or simply avoids the missteps that cost Noem her job.