President Donald Trump announced Wednesday that he is removing Kristi Noem from her role as Secretary of Homeland Security, bringing an abrupt end to the former South Dakota governor’s tenure leading the department during the president’s second term.
Trump revealed the decision on Truth Social, stating that he will nominate Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., to take over the position.
Noem, 54, had served as the top official at the Department of Homeland Security throughout the early portion of Trump’s second term. In the immediate aftermath of her departure, Deputy Secretary Troy Edgar is expected to assume the role on a temporary basis as part of the agency’s line of succession. Edgar is a Navy veteran and former mayor of Los Alamitos, California.
During her time at DHS, Noem oversaw what supporters described as a major shift away from the immigration policies implemented during the Biden administration under former Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.
Under Noem’s leadership, the department emphasized enforcement efforts and border security initiatives. DHS reported record drug interdictions during her first year, totaling more than half a million pounds of illegal narcotics seized.
Her tenure also coincided with the administration’s push to carry out Trump’s mass deportation agenda. According to reported figures, roughly 2 million migrants self-deported during 2025, while about 670,000 illegal immigrants were formally removed from the country. Supporters of the program have described the effort as the most successful immigration enforcement operation in history.
Noem’s department frequently pushed back against high-profile critics of the administration’s policies. Among those who clashed with DHS were California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, and Maryland midterm candidate David Trone.
Trone had accused the agency of “executing people in the streets” while filming a protest advertisement outside a facility in Williamsport that had recently been purchased to serve as a detention center.
The department’s aggressive immigration enforcement policies, particularly operations in Minneapolis, drew criticism from some quarters and contributed to heightened scrutiny of the administration’s approach to border security. During that period, U.S. Border Patrol Cmdr. Gregory Bovino was replaced in the Twin Cities by Border Czar Tom Homan amid the controversy.
Meanwhile, reports surfaced that Trump had grown increasingly frustrated with Noem following her performance during a series of bicameral Judiciary Committee hearings this week.
During one exchange, Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., pressed Noem about a contract related to a taxpayer-funded advertising campaign. Trump reportedly took issue with Noem suggesting during the hearing that the president had approved an ad that was subcontracted to a firm connected with individuals in her political circle.
National Review also reported that Mullin had emerged as a leading candidate to replace Noem. The Oklahoma senator told the outlet he had not discussed the matter with Trump.
“I haven’t talked to the president,” Mullin said.
The hearings themselves became contentious, particularly when Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove, D-Calif., questioned Noem about rumors involving Corey Lewandowski, a longtime Trump adviser who served as a “special government employee” at DHS.
Kamlager-Dove asked Noem whether she had “sexual relations with Corey Lewandowski,” while also criticizing Lewandowski as a “failed campaign manager.”
Noem’s husband, Bryon Noem, sat nearby during the exchange.
Rep. Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla., later followed up with additional questions about Lewandowski while wearing a “Justice for Cricket” pin referencing a dog Noem once wrote she euthanized on her farm.
“I really think you need to say the word ‘no’ into the record so that you can clear that up,” Moskowitz said.
Noem forcefully pushed back against the line of questioning, calling the accusations offensive.
“I am shocked that we’re going down and peddling this tabloid garbage in this committee today,” she told Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio.
She also accused Democrats of targeting conservative women with personal attacks.
“The socialist, liberal left: you go off and you attack conservative women and you say that we’re either stupid or we’re sluts,” Noem said during the hearing. “And I will tell you sir… I am neither of those.”
Despite the controversy surrounding the hearings, several Republicans praised Noem’s leadership at DHS.
Rep. Clay Higgins, R-La., a former law enforcement officer, criticized Democrats during the hearing and defended the former secretary’s record.
“Madam Secretary, you inherited a disaster, and you turned it around,” Higgins said. “An astonishing 97% decrease in illegal crossings isn’t a coincidence; it’s leadership. Know that this committee has your back.”
When Rep. Eric Swalwell pressed her about the advertising contract during the hearing, Noem responded sharply.
“While you’re focusing on photo-ops and luxury jets,” she told the California Democrat, “I’m focused on the fact that the Coast Guard might not get paid because your party is choosing not to fund them.”
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