By 普莉西拉·阿尔瓦雷斯、克里斯汀·霍尔姆斯、安妮·格雷尔、劳伦·福克斯
更新于 2026 年 3 月 5 日，美国东部时间下午 2:43
发布于 2026 年 3 月 5 日，美国东部时间下午 1:32
美国总统唐纳德·特朗普周四表示，他正在将国土安全部部长克里斯蒂·诺姆解职，并将任命俄克拉荷马州参议员马克韦恩·穆林接替她的职位。
特朗普感谢诺姆的服务，在其 Truth Social（特朗普社交平台）帖子中称她“取得了众多非凡成果（尤其是在边境问题上！）”，并且“她将转任美洲盾牌特使，这是我们在西半球的新安全倡议。”
他表示，穆林将于 3 月 31 日接任该职位。目前尚不清楚特朗普是否计划永久提名穆林担任该职务。
助手们表示，特朗普喜欢在电视上看穆林的表现，这在总统决定任命他担任该职位方面发挥了作用。特朗普在穆林进行了具有对抗性的采访后致电表扬他，白宫工作人员也经常派遣这位参议员在政府重大事件期间进行有线电视新闻采访。
诺姆在特朗普政府初期被任命为国土安全部负责人，她在该职位上的行为受到越来越多的审查，包括她被指与首席顾问存在恋爱关系、部门意外获得的大量现金分配（特别是用于一个以她为主角的昂贵广告活动），以及她对涉及联邦移民局人员致命事件的矛盾说法。
现任和前任国土安全部官员私下质疑，在一系列被视为失误之后，这位部长还能在职位上待多久。其中包括在国土安全部资金断供期间突然决定暂停 TSA 预检项目（该决定在数小时内被撤销），以及她在本周两次国会听证会上的回应。
特朗普本人对听证会的情况感到愤怒——特别是诺姆声称总统知晓她的国土安全部广告活动，而特朗普对此予以否认。
自美国公民雷妮·古德和亚历克斯·普雷蒂在明尼阿波利斯被枪杀，以及诺姆的有争议的回应之后，特朗普自今年 1 月以来一直向盟友询问她的情况。当时，那些亲近他的人认为，这很大程度上是特朗普的“特朗普式”行为——他经常询问团队成员的状况和工作进展，尤其是在遭遇反对的时候。
美国有线电视新闻网（CNN）此前曾报道，一些白宫高级官员长期以来对诺姆的首席助手科里·莱万多夫斯基感到不满，莱万多夫斯基在本周的国会听证会上受到了一些尖锐的质疑。
在古德和普雷蒂枪击事件后，特朗普派遣白宫边境问题负责人汤姆·霍曼于今年 1 月前往明尼阿波利斯，以解决当地的问题，这显然是对诺姆处理该局势方式的指责。多名现任和前任官员表示，霍曼和诺姆之间长期存在不和，很少交流。但白宫官员坚称两人始终步调一致。
国会山的问题
政府之外的共和党盟友也对诺姆感到厌倦——共和党参议员中的支持率有所下降。这一点在本周参议院司法委员会听证会上共和党人提出的问题中显而易见。
“质量而非数量，质量，而我们看到在你的领导下一切都成了灾难，”共和党参议员汤姆·蒂利斯在听证会上表示。
共和党参议员约翰·肯尼迪就诺姆部门的广告活动质问她，正如肯尼迪所指出的，该活动经常以诺姆为主角。据《调查性报道新闻网》（ProPublica）去年报道，该广告合同的中标方是一名前国土安全部发言人的丈夫。
诺姆辩称，广告投标是经过正规流程的，但肯尼迪表示他的研究“表明你没有进行投标”，并且在一个案例中，她选择了一家“在你选定他们前 11 天才成立”的公司。
“当我们为每一分钱精打细算并在削减方案上争执不休时，有四分之一到四分之二的十亿纳税人资金花在这些广告上，这让我感到不安，我无法同意部长女士的做法，”肯尼迪说，随后询问总统是否批准了以她为主角的广告活动。
“总统知道你要这么做吗？”肯尼迪问道。
“是的，”诺姆回答。
“他知道？”肯尼迪追问。
“嗯哼，是的，”诺姆说。
周四，特朗普在接受路透社采访时否认知道该广告活动。“我对此一无所知，”他说。
在本周作证的参议院司法委员会上，其他多名共和党议员周四未明确表示是否支持诺姆的领导，包括特朗普的亲密盟友、参议员林赛·格雷厄姆。
当被问及是否信任国土安全部部长以及如果有机会是否会再次投票确认她时，格雷厄姆反复回答：“时间会证明一切。”
国土安全部内部的抱怨
国土安全部官员对总统周四下午的宣布感到震惊，尽管一些人认为她的离职是不可避免的。
“我认为这早就该发生了。她从一开始就不适合这个职位，”一名国土安全部官员告诉 CNN。
另一名国土安全部官员表示，诺姆“付出了代价”，指责她利用职位谋取私利。
部门官员之间一直在互相发消息，分享这一消息并猜测该部门接下来会发生什么。在特朗普第一任期内，该机构高层频繁变动。
在国土安全部内部，官员们对诺姆和莱万多夫斯基（一名早期被任命为国土安全部特别政府雇员的诺姆心腹）管理机构的方式日益感到沮丧，有时甚至感到疲惫。
“人们受够了他们的所作所为。老实说，这太离谱了，”一名国土安全部官员告诉 CNN。
莱万多夫斯基原本只打算临时担任该职务，但他在部门内以斥责官员、解雇人员、要求员工停职、召集机构领导人“问责”以及过度干涉（包括在部门获得大量资金用于加强驱逐行动方面）而闻名。
当被共和党人和民主党人问及他的角色时，诺姆淡化了他的影响力。
“他是一名特别政府雇员。特别政府雇员为白宫和政府工作。这样的人有成千上万，”诺姆在与共和党参议员查克·格拉斯利的交流中表示，坚称国土安全部官员正在遵守与特别政府雇员相关的规章制度。
诺姆还被问及媒体长期以来关于她与莱万多夫斯基存在恋爱关系的指控。她在周三的众议院听证会上称这是“小报垃圾”。
挑选长期盟友
穆林在众议院任职五届后，于 2022 年当选为参议员。
在其任期内，穆林一直是特朗普的坚定盟友，是党内谈判的常客，依靠其在国会山的关系充当众议院和参议院共和党人之间的桥梁。今年夏天，他在推动共和党人通过总统具有里程碑意义的税收法案方面发挥了关键作用，与纽约州众议院共和党人达成了关于州和地方税收减免的协议。
作为负责资助立法部门的参议院拨款委员会小组委员会主席，穆林深度参与了在威胁加剧的环境下帮助改善议员安全的工作。作为一名前综合格斗（MMA）选手，穆林在国会山以高强度训练而闻名，他过去常常为众议院议员组织训练。人们经常看到他在长时间投票或紧张谈判期间拍球。
今年 1 月，在普雷蒂被杀后不久，穆林告诉 CNN，他“绝对”对诺姆有信心，尽管他称自己“没有时间”看普雷蒂死亡的病毒式传播视频。
穆林一直在与白宫和参议院民主党人合作，试图结束目前的国土安全部停摆，同时他表示，他不希望国会通过限制特工履行职责的法案。
重返南达科他州？
在特朗普宣布将诺姆边缘化之前，一些官员和接近白宫的消息人士曾猜测，诺姆是否会尝试竞选南达科他州参议员，挑战现任参议员迈克·鲁恩多夫参加共和党初选。要在南达科他州获得选票资格，诺姆需要在 3 月底的报名截止日期前收集刚刚超过 2000 个签名。
但现在参加竞选不会给诺姆太多的竞选时间。初选定于 6 月 2 日举行，这意味着这位前南达科他州州长只有不到三个月的时间。
特朗普已经支持鲁恩多夫竞选参议院，要将他描绘成总统的煽动者将极具挑战性。在去年的支持中，特朗普在 Truth Social 上写道，鲁恩多夫是“一个美国优先爱国者”，并表示他“完全支持其连任”。
“他永远不会让你失望，”特朗普说。
与今年其他候选人不同——如缅因州参议员苏珊·柯林斯或路易斯安那州参议员比尔·卡西迪——鲁恩多夫在 2021 年的特朗普弹劾审判中投票反对定罪。他支持特朗普的每一位内阁提名人，尽管在参议院中被视为务实和更传统的共和党人，但很少公开反对特朗普。
鲁恩多夫还支持特朗普标志性的税收法案。
鲁恩多夫和特朗普之间曾有过一次明显的争执。总统在 2022 年曾发誓，在南达科他州共和党人称 2020 年选举公平后，他可能永远不会再次支持鲁恩多夫。
“我永远不会再支持这个混蛋，”特朗普当时在 Truth Social 上发文称。
本文已根据最新进展和报道更新。
CNN 的马努·拉朱、凯特兰·柯林斯、凯文·利普塔克和莎拉·费里斯对本文有贡献。
Trump ousts Noem as frustrations build among White House officials, GOP lawmakers
By Priscilla Alvarez, Kristen Holmes, Annie Grayer, Lauren Fox
Updated Mar 5, 2026, 2:43 PM ET
PUBLISHED Mar 5, 2026, 1:32 PM ET
President Donald Trump said Thursday he was pushing Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem out of her position and would name Oklahoma Sen. Markwayne Mullin to replace her.
Trump thanked Noem for her service, saying in his Truth Social post she “has had numerous and spectacular results (especially on the Border!)” and that she “will be moving to be Special Envoy for The Shield of the Americas, our new Security Initiative in the Western Hemisphere.”
He said Mullin would take over the position March 31. It wasn’t immediately clear if Trump planned to nominate Mullin for the position permanently.
Trump loves watching Mullin on TV, aides said, which played a role in the president’s decision to tap him for the position. Trump has called Mullin following combative interviews to praise him and White House staffers have often dispatched the senator to do cable news hits around big moments for the administration.
Noem, who was tapped by Trump to helm DHS at the start of his administration, has faced growing scrutiny over her conduct in the position, including her alleged romantic relationship with her chief adviser, distribution of the windfall of cash the department has received — particularly for an expensive ad campaign that showcased her prominently — and her conflicting accounts over fatal incidents involving federal immigration agents.
Current and former Homeland Security officials had privately questioned how much longer the secretary would remain in the post following what they perceived as a series of missteps. Those include blindsiding the White House with a decision to pause TSA precheck during the current DHS funding lapse — a decision that was reversed within hours — and her responses during two congressional hearings this week.
Trump himself was angry with how the hearings went — particularly her assertion, which he denies, that the president was aware of her DHS ad campaign.
Since the fatal shootings of US citizens Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis, and Noem’s controversial responses, Trump has been asking allies about what they think of her. Those close to him believed at the time that it was largely Trump being Trump — he often asks about his team and how they are doing, particularly amid backlash.
CNN has previously reported that some top White House officials have long been frustrated with Corey Lewandowski, Noem’s top aide and the subject of some pointed questioning during this week’s congressional hearings.
Trump dispatched White House border czar Tom Homan to Minneapolis in January in the wake of the Good and Pretti shootings to resolve the issues on the ground there, an apparent rebuke of Noem’s handling of the situation. Homan and Noem have a long simmering feud and rarely speak, according to multiple current and former officials. White House officials maintained that the two were in lockstep with each other.
Problems on the Hill
GOP allies outside the administration had also grown weary of Noem — and support among GOP senators had weakened. That was evident in questions posed by Republicans during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing this week.
“Quality matters, not quantity, quality, and what we’ve seen is a disaster under your leadership,” GOP Sen. Thom Tillis said at the hearing.
Republican Sen. John Kennedy confronted Noem about her agency’s advertising campaign, which, as Kennedy pointed out, often prominently showcases Noem. ProPublica reported last year that the recipient of a lucrative advertising subcontract was the husband of a former DHS spokesperson.
While Noem argued that bids for the advertisements were properly submitted, Kennedy said his research “shows that you did not bid them out” and, in one instance, chose a company that was formed “11 days before you picked them.”
“It troubles me, quarter-fifth to a quarter of a billion dollars in taxpayer money when we’re scratching for every penny and we’re fighting over rescission packages, I just can’t agree with Madam Secretary,” Kennedy said, later asking whether the president approved the campaign which featured her prominently.
“Did the president know you were gonna do this?” Kennedy asked.
“Yes,” Noem replied.
“He did?” Kennedy pressed.
“Uh huh, yes,” Noem said.
In an interview with Reuters Thursday, Trump denied knowing about the campaign. “I never knew anything about it,” he said.
Multiple other Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee, where Noem testified this week, wouldn’t say Thursday if they back her leadership, including Sen. Lindsey Graham, a close Trump ally.
“Time will tell,” he repeatedly answered when asked if he has confidence in the DHS secretary and if he would vote to confirm her again if he had the chance.
Complaints inside DHS
Homeland Security officials were stunned by the president’s announcement Thursday afternoon, though some saw her ouster as inevitable.
“I think it’s long overdue. She wasn’t qualified for the position from the beginning,” a Homeland Security official told CNN.
Another Homeland Security official said Noem “paid the price,” accusing her of exploiting the role for personal gain.
Officials in the department have been texting one another, sharing the news and trying to game out what comes next for the department. There was frequent turnover at the top of the agency during Trump’s first term.
Within DHS, officials had expressed increasing frustration — and at times, exhaustion — over the way Noem and Lewandowski, a longtime Noem confidante who was tapped early on to serve at DHS as a special government employee, run the agency.
“People are tired of their shit. Honestly, it’s been unreal,” one Homeland Security official told CNN.
Lewandowski, who’s only intended to serve in his role on a temporary basis, has developed a reputation at the department of reprimanding officials, directing the firings of personnel, requesting employees be put on administrative leave, calling agency leaders “to hold them accountable,” and micro-managing — including over the massive infusion of cash the department has received to ramp up deportations.
Noem downplayed his influence when asked by Republicans and Democrats about his role this week.
“His role is a special government employee. And special government employees work for the White House and the administration. There are thousands of them,” Noem said, maintaining that Homeland Security officials were following rules and regulations associated with special government employees in an exchange with Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley.
Noem was also grilled about longstanding allegations in the media that she was in a romantic relationship with Lewandowski. She called it “tabloid garbage” during a House hearing Wednesday.
Picking a longtime ally
Mullin was elected to the Senate in 2022 after serving five terms in the House of Representatives.
In his tenure, Mullin has been a staunch ally of Trump and was a regular fixture in negotiations within his party, relying on his relationships across the Capitol to serve as a conduit between House and Senate Republicans. Over the summer, he was crucial in bringing Republicans together on passing the president’s landmark tax legislation, securing a deal with New York House Republicans on a state and local tax deduction.
As the chair of the Senate Appropriations subcommittee that funds the legislative branch, Mullin has been deeply involved in helping to improve lawmaker security in a heightened threat environment. A former Mixed Martial Arts fighter, Mullin is famous on Capitol Hill for intense workouts that he used to run for House members. He is often seen bouncing a ball during a long vote series or during tense negotiations.
In January, shortly after the killing of Pretti, Mullin told CNN he “absolutely” had confidence in Noem, though he said he hasn’t “had time” to see the viral videos of Pretti’s death.
Mullin has been working with the White House and Senate Democrats to try and find an end to the current DHS shutdown, while arguing that he does not want Congress to pass restrictions that would inhibit agents from doing their job.
A South Dakota return?
Some officials and sources close to the White House had mused, before Trump announced he was sidelining her, whether Noem would try to run for the Senate in South Dakota, challenging incumbent Sen. Mike Rounds in the GOP primary. To qualify for the ballot in South Dakota, Noem would need to gather just over 2,000 signatures before the filing deadline at the end of March.
But jumping in the race now wouldn’t give Noem much of a runway to campaign. The primary is scheduled for June 2, giving the former South Dakota governor less than three months.
Trump has also already endorsed Rounds for Senate and an effort to paint him as an instigator of the president would prove challenging. In his endorsement last year, Trump wrote on Truth Social that Rounds was “an America First Patriot” who had his “complete and total endorsement for re-election.”
“He will never let you down,” Trump said.
Unlike other Republicans on the ballot this year, like Maine Sen. Susan Collins or Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy, Rounds voted against convicting Trump in his impeachment trial in 2021. He voted for every one of Trump’s cabinet nominees and has rarely spoken out against Trump even though he is seen in the chamber as a pragmatic and more traditional Republican.
Rounds also voted for Trump’s signature tax package.
There was one notable squabble between Rounds and Trump. The president did vow back in 2022 that he may never endorse Rounds again after the South Dakota Republican called the 2020 election fair.
“I will never endorse this jerk again,” Trump said in a Truth Social post at the time.
This story has been updated with additional developments and reporting.
CNN’s Manu Raju, Kaitlan Collins, Kevin Liptak and Sarah Ferris contributed to this report.
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