克里斯蒂·诺姆因近期动荡被解职国土安全部职务

Kristi Noem ousted from Homeland Security post amid recent turmoil

Trump reportedly furious with Noem’s performance in congressional hearings this week over controversial ad contract

By Charles Creitz
Fox News

Published March 5, 2026 1:44pm EST | Updated March 5, 2026 2:09pm EST

[Top 5 most viral moments as Noem’s Senate hearing goes off-the-rails]

DHS Secretary Kristi Noem sparred with Senate Judiciary Committee lawmakers Tuesday over ICE actions, court orders, and more as the agency’s partial shutdown neared the one-month mark.

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Kristi Noem, the former South Dakota congresswoman and governor who has led President Donald Trump’s Department of Homeland Security thus far in his second term, was ousted from her position on Wednesday.

President Donald Trump announced on Truth Social that he will nominate Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., to replace Noem, effective March 31.

“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 said Mullin has done a “tremendous job” in Congress and cited his resume as a former undefeated MMA fighter.

“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,” Trump said.

Mullin is the first Native American senator in decades, following Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell of Colorado.

Noem, 54, will likely be at least temporarily replaced by Deputy Secretary Troy Edgar, a Navy veteran and former mayor of Los Alamitos, California, in the line of succession for the agency.

Noem’s tenure marked a distinct reversal of the open-border policies permitted by predecessor Alejandro Mayorkas during the Biden administration, and DHS has notched record drug interdictions totaling more than half a million pounds of illegal drugs in her first year.

Her management of President Donald Trump’s mass deportation agenda has also led to more than 2 million reported self-deportations in 2025 and about 670,000 removals of illegal immigrants, a figure supporters have hailed as the most successful immigration enforcement operation in history.

Her agency has also been unafraid to hit back at high-profile critics, including California Gov. Gavin Newsom; Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif.; Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz; and 2026 midterm candidate David Trone of Maryland, who accused DHS of “executing people in the streets” as he filmed a protest ad outside a Williamsport compound recently purchased for use as a detention facility.

Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., is seen after visiting a meeting of the House Republican Conference in the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday, November 19, 2024(Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

Such criticisms of her mass deportation operations, particularly in Minneapolis, appeared to somewhat sour public sentiment on the administration’s handling of the immigration issue, as U.S. Border Patrol Cmdr. Gregory Bovino — a DHS subordinate — was replaced in the Twin Cities by Border Czar Tom Homan amid the firestorm.

Meanwhile, reports surfaced Thursday that Trump is “furious” with Noem over her performance in bicameral Judiciary Committee hearings this week, particularly over a contract for an advertisement that Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., and others grilled her on.

Trump reportedly took issue with her suggesting to Kennedy that he approved a taxpayer-funded ad subcontracted to a firm connected with her inner circle, according to National Review, which also reported that Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., is being considered a top candidate for her replacement.

“I haven’t talked to the president,” Mullin told the magazine.

In Wednesday’s House hearing, Noem was questioned by Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove, D-Calif., over rumors of an affair with DHS “special government employee” Corey Lewandowski, a top figure in Trump’s 2016 campaign.

[TRUMP UNLOADS ON ‘RADICAL LEFT’ AS HE STANDS BY KRISTI NOEM AMID IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT UNREST]

DHS Secretary Kristi Noem speaks in front of the border wall amid political pressure and calls for her resignation while touring both U.S. borders.(Mikaela McGee/DHS)

Noem criticized Kamlager-Dove in response, as her husband, insurance company owner and former South Dakota first gentleman Bryon Noem, sat just feet behind her.

Kamlager-Dove asked Noem if at any time during her tenure she had “sexual relations with Corey Lewandowski,” before slamming the longtime Trump aide as a “failed campaign manager” and someone lacking military experience.

Rep. Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla., followed up, pressing Noem on Lewandowski while wearing a Justice for Cricket pin referencing the dog Noem once wrote she had to euthanize 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 pushed back hard on both Democrats, saying what they were implying is “offensive” and telling Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, that she was “shocked that we’re going down and peddling this tabloid garbage in this committee today.”

“The socialist, liberal left: you go off and you attack conservative women and you say that we’re either stupid or we’re sluts. That’s what you do. And I will tell you sir… I am neither of those,” Noem fumed at Moskowitz.

Through the recent turmoil, many Republicans remained highly complimentary of Noem’s tenure.

Rep. Clay Higgins, R-La., a former law enforcement officer himself, said during the hearing that he was “embarrassed by the antics of my colleagues across the aisle.”

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“Madam Secretary, you inherited a disaster, and you turned it around. An astonishing 97% decrease in illegal crossings isn’t a coincidence; it’s leadership. Know that this committee has your back,” Higgins said.

When Swalwell pressed her on the ad campaign and contract, Noem shot back that while the Alameda Democrat was “focusing on photo-ops and luxury jets, 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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Charles Creitz is a reporter for Fox News Digital.

He joined Fox News in 2013 as a writer and production assistant.

Charles covers media, politics and culture for Fox News Digital.

Charles is a Pennsylvania native and graduated from Temple University with a B.A. in Broadcast Journalism. Story tips can be sent to charles.creitz@fox.com.