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US President Donald Trump on Thursday fired his Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, after sharply criticizing her leadership of the department, including the administration’s handling of immigration and crisis management.
Trump, who has said he will nominate Oklahoma Republican Rep. Markwayne Mullin to replace him, made the announcement on social media Thursday, two days after Noem faced a backlash on Capitol Hill from fellow Republicans and Democrats.
Trump says he will make Noem “Special Envoy for the Shield of the United States,” a new security program he said will focus on the Western Hemisphere.
Noem, took the stage to address a Department of Homeland Security event after Trump’s announcement but did not immediately address his firing. Instead, he read from prepared remarks, including a reinforcement of Trump’s message from the State of the Union last month.
Noem is the first cabinet secretary to be removed during Trump’s second term. Noem’s departure caps a tumultuous period in which he oversaw immigration enforcement tactics that have been met with protests and lawsuits.
He faced criticism in January when he quickly called two US citizens shot and killed by immigration agents in Minneapolis as “domestic terrorism.” The videos that emerged after the deaths underscored Noem’s and other Trump officials’ assertions that the victims — Renee Good and Alex Pretti — were violent abusers.
During testimony Tuesday, US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem refused to retract or apologize for her comments in January calling two US citizens shot and killed by immigration police in Minneapolis domestic terrorists. Accounts from local officials and bystander video contradict his comments. Noem’s hearing was interrupted at times by shouting protesters.
Criticism bubbles from both sides
Public backlash over the deaths has led the Trump administration to move to a more targeted approach to immigration enforcement in Minnesota after months of sweeping US cities that led to violent clashes with residents opposed to fracking.
Noem faced heavy criticism from Democrats and some Republicans at congressional hearings this week on those and other issues.
The former governor of South Dakota was also criticized for the way his department spent billions of dollars allocated by Congress.
A case in point was a $220 million ad campaign featuring Noem that encouraged people in the country illegally to leave voluntarily.
Noem told lawmakers that Trump knew about the campaign in advance, but Trump denied that in an interview Thursday with Reuters, saying he did not sign off on the campaign ad.
Aside from immigration, Noem has also faced criticism — including from Republicans — about the pace of emergency funding approved by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Trump administration’s response to disasters.
Mullin will need to be confirmed by the Senate, but under federal law governing executive branch vacancies, he will be allowed to serve as acting homeland security secretary pending his official nomination.
