WASHINGTON — President Trump announced Thursday that he is firing Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in the first cabinet shakeup of his second term.
Trump announced the move after Noem told Congress this week that he approved $220 million in ads featuring herself. The president accused her of lying before canning her.
“I am pleased to announce that the Highly Respected United States Senator from the Great State of Oklahoma, Markwayne Mullin, will become the United States Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS), effective March 31, 2026,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
“The current Secretary, Kristi Noem, who has served us well, and has had numerous and spectacular results (especially on the Border!), will be moving to be Special Envoy for The Shield of the Americas, our new Security Initiative in the Western Hemisphere we are announcing on Saturday in Doral, Florida. I thank Kristi for her service at ‘Homeland.’”
Trump dedicated the remainder of his statement to praising Mullin.
Noem, 54, faced withering bipartisan grilling by senators Tuesday and by the House on Wednesday.
Here’s the latest on the firing of Kristi Noem
- Noem speaking minutes after being fired by Trump: watch live
- Trump fires Kristi Noem in first Cabinet shakeup of second term — taps senator for replacement
- Trump says Kristi Noem lied to Congress about getting his approval for $220M ad campaign featuring herself
- Noem grilled on ‘sexual relations’ with Lewandowski — at House hearing her husband attended
The former South Dakota governor stunningly declined to deny having “sexual relations” with her top aide, Corey Lewandowski, couldn’t say if he received any ad proceeds and denied that he approved contracts — despite significant evidence that he had.
She fatally testified to Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) that Trump approved a series of ads that prominently featured herself. Some of the money flowed to a firm run by the husband of Noem’s then-spokeswoman.
“I never knew anything about it,” Trump told Reuters moments before he fired Noem.
Kennedy told CBS on Thursday morning that he spoke with Trump and that “put it this way, his recollection and her recollection are different.”
The secretary was the subject of widespread criticism in January after leading a deportation campaign in Minneapolis that resulted in federal agents killing two activists, prompting Trump to put her internal rival, border czar Tom Homan, in charge of calming tensions.
After she survived that period, even Noem’s detractors expected her to remain in the Cabinet until after the November midterm elections due to Trump’s “no scalps” policy of avoiding firings after his first term was consumed with nonstop speculation about which official might get axed.
Noem appeared totally unfazed by her termination as she spoke to law enforcement officers in Nashville, Tenn., shortly afterward.
“As long as this world is fractured and as long as human nature has fallen, we will need brave men and women who step up and serve and enforce our rights and our laws and our values. And that’s what all of you do in this room with your colleagues,” she told the group.
Trump has made few major staffing shuffles since reclaiming power last January — generally framing them as “promotions.”
His first national security adviser, Mike Waltz, was made US ambassador to the United Nations after accidentally adding an anti-Trump journalist to a Signal group chat about airstrikes on Yemen.
In another soft landing, Trump’s first personnel director Sergio Gor was named ambassador to India after helping spark an epic falling-out between Trump and Elon Musk while dragging his feet on submitting background check paperwork and misleadingly claiming to be “from” Malta.
Trump said that Mullin would continue his administration’s progress.
“A MAGA Warrior, and former undefeated professional MMA fighter, Markwayne truly gets along well with people, and knows the Wisdom and Courage required to Advance our America First Agenda,” Trump wrote.
“As the only Native American in the Senate, Markwayne is a fantastic advocate for our incredible Tribal Communities. Markwayne will work tirelessly to Keep our Border Secure, Stop Migrant Crime, Murderers, and other Criminals from illegally entering our Country, End the Scourge of Illegal Drugs and, MAKE AMERICA SAFE AGAIN.”
