U.S. President Donald Trump has dismissed Kristi Noem as secretary of the United States Department of Homeland Security, ending weeks of growing political pressure over her leadership of the agency and replacing her with Republican senator Markwayne Mullin.

The decision marks the first major personnel shake-up of Trump’s second term. The president announced the change in a post on Truth Social on Thursday, saying Mullin would take over the department starting on 31 March.

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Trump thanked Noem for her service, praising what he described as “spectacular results” particularly on border enforcement. He said she would instead become a special envoy responsible for a security initiative called the “Shield of the Americas,” which the administration plans to unveil in the coming days.

Replacement announced amid political pressure

Mullin, a Republican senator from Oklahoma and a close ally of Trump, told reporters he had been informed of the decision only shortly before it was announced publicly.

“It’s humbling,” Mullin said, adding that the rapid development prompted him to call his father after learning he would join the president’s cabinet. “A little kid from west Oklahoma getting to serve in the president’s cabinet is pretty neat.”

Noem later acknowledged the move in a post on X, thanking Trump for the opportunity to lead the department and highlighting what she described as her record on immigration enforcement and border security.

The announcement came shortly before she addressed a group of police officials in Nashville. She did not publicly refer to her dismissal during the speech.

Bipartisan criticism over shootings

Noem’s removal follows weeks of bipartisan criticism over the conduct of federal immigration agents operating under the department’s authority.

The controversy intensified after immigration agents deployed in Minneapolis killed two U.S. citizens, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, during separate incidents connected to protests against immigration enforcement. The shootings triggered intense scrutiny of the agency and demands for changes to rules governing the use of force.

Noem drew criticism after accusing both individuals of involvement in “domestic terrorism,” comments that critics said were not supported by the available evidence regarding their participation in demonstrations.

Senior Democrats welcomed her departure. Hakeem Jeffries, the House minority leader, described her tenure as a failure, telling reporters: “Good riddance. She was a disaster.”

However, Jeffries said replacing the secretary alone would not resolve broader concerns about immigration enforcement policies. Democrats have been pushing for new guidelines governing the actions of immigration agents.

“We need a change in policy that has to be bold, dramatic, transformational and meaningful,” he said.

Funding dispute continues in Congress

The leadership change comes amid an ongoing standoff in Congress over funding for the Homeland Security Department.

The agency has been partially shut down since mid-February after Senate Democrats blocked a spending measure that did not include the new conduct rules they demanded following the Minneapolis shootings.

Chuck Schumer, the Senate majority leader, said he remained skeptical that replacing the department’s leader would address deeper concerns about immigration enforcement under Trump.

“I don’t trust any one person being in charge of this agency as long as Trump is president,” Schumer said, arguing that structural issues within immigration enforcement agencies remained unresolved.

Controversies surrounding leadership

Noem’s leadership of the department had also been clouded by other controversies in recent months.

Reports described turmoil inside the agency and alleged she had a personal relationship with senior adviser Corey Lewandowski, a former Trump campaign manager who worked closely with her at the department. Both denied wrongdoing, with Noem dismissing questions about the allegations as “tabloid garbage” during congressional hearings.

Additional scrutiny followed reports about a proposed $70m aircraft intended for high-profile deportation operations, as well as spending linked to advertising campaigns featuring the secretary.

Some Republicans also began raising concerns. Lindsey Graham said he appreciated Noem’s service but supported the decision to replace her, stating that “it was time for a change.”

A prominent figure in Trump’s immigration crackdown

Before joining the cabinet, Noem served as governor of South Dakota and had been widely viewed as a rising figure in the Republican Party. She was once considered a potential vice-presidential running mate for Trump during the 2024 election cycle.

As homeland security secretary, she became a prominent public defender of the administration’s immigration crackdown. The department oversees agencies such as U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the U.S. Border Patrol, which have played central roles in Trump’s mass deportation strategy.

Despite her removal, Noem is expected to remain involved in the administration through her new diplomatic role focused on countering transnational criminal networks in the Western Hemisphere.

Whether the leadership change will ease the political standoff over immigration enforcement and department funding remains uncertain as the debate in Congress continues.

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  Adapted by ASEAN Now · Source · 05.03 2026

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"Shield of The Americas" eh?

Now there is a cosplay opportunity not to be missed!

Should be easy enough to identify the "agents" - they will be the ones wearing capes with their underpants over their trousers!

Does sound like another "set of initials agency" being created to operate beyond and outside oversight, checks and control!

It’s a step in the right direction but we know Donald he doesn’t appoint competent people only appoints todys.Perhaps Kristy can now answer to her true calling of dog catcher…..on a serious note she may have dodged the bullet in the sense that Iran is sure to be mounting attacks on soft targets here in the states soon and she won’t be accountable for any of those.good riddance…..as far as looking for transnational criminal networks perhaps she can start with liberty financial ehh???

Yet he keeps Bondi and Patel ?

30 minutes ago, Tug said:

It’s a step in the right direction but we know Donald he doesn’t appoint competent people only appoints todys.Perhaps Kristy can now answer to her true calling of dog catcher…..on a serious note she may have dodged the bullet in the sense that Iran is sure to be mounting attacks on soft targets here in the states soon and she won’t be accountable for any of those.good riddance…..as far as looking for transnational criminal networks perhaps she can start with liberty financial ehh???

This statement is an insult to all toads.

According to a USA Today article on March 5, Trump fired her after she was grilled by lawmakers about a $220 million ad campaign that featured her prominently. The article also says that Noem testified that she had discussed the campaign with Trump and he approved it.

However, Trump is quoted as saying "...I never knew anything about it" in a phone interview with Reuters on Thursday!

As for MarkWayne, well he seems eminently qualified for his new role - in 2025, he publicly defended ICE agents amid what he called a sharp rise in threats against them, blaming the increase on Democratic politicians.

His own web site says "We are a nation of laws and those laws must be upheld. We must ensure our immigration laws our enforced, bring back the Remain in Mexico policy, finish building the wall, and end the liberal incentives that are fueling the worst border crisis in American history". see https://www.mullin.senate.gov/about/issues/border-security/

Kristi Noem shot her dog, Cricket, because she described the dog as aggressive, untrainable, and a threat to her children and a neighbor’s livestock.

Seems like she has already demonstrated similar behaviour to 'Cricket'?

****Bold font removed****

Next up, removing Trump. Her replacement sounds just as bad, though. One horrible, incompetent hack after another, so Trump supposedly looks marginally better--but only in his eyes.

This is truly fantastic news and she is the first major member of the administration to be thrown under the bus. She richly deserved that. She was a moron. The level of cruelty, insensitivity and dishonesty that she displayed was truly a blight on America, and she will likely disappear into obscurity and it will be very difficult for her to find a job, beyond manager of a local Kmart. If that.

I love what Jared Moskowitz said about her sometime ago.

Noem must be fired.

As the partial government shutdown gets underway, Democratic Congressman Jared Moskowitz defended the decision not to fund the Department of Homeland Security and argued that not only was it essential for ICE to be reformed, but Democrats should also demand that Kristi Noem either resign or be fired.

"I mean, for me, this idea that we have a 10-point plan, but we're not asking for leadership change, that doesn't work," Moskowitz told CBS New Miami. "I think Kristi Noem needs to resign or be removed. By the president's metrics, tell me what her successes are? She's built no border wall; 200 miles of that wall is being held up by her. These are the president's metrics, not mine. Okay. She's got the largest backlog of FEMA money. She's not sending out any money even to red states, okay. She's deporting less people than Barack Obama did – again, the president's metrics, not mine. I mean, what success does she have? I mean, if the president had her on The Apprentice, his old show, she would be the weakest link, and he would have fired her by now.

"You know, as far as policy changes are concerned, I think the idea that we have masked men running around American streets is ridiculous," Moskowitz continued. "So, for me, body cameras is a must, should have always been there. And the masks, the masks have to go. I think the masks are totally ridiculous and un-American. If our police officers don't have to wear them, okay, and our FBI agents don't to wear them, there's no excuse that ICE gets to wear them.

https://share.google/i246L491Y2Zh8vVj1

But for all her incompetence, she was undoubtedly the best eye candy to walk through the halls of Homeland Security....That surely is worth something?...

4 minutes ago, Leopold Bloom said:

But for all her incompetence, she was undoubtedly the best eye candy to walk through the halls of Homeland Security....That surely is worth something?...

Really? I always thought she looked porcine.

Mutton dressed as lamb.

But each to their own.

30 minutes ago, spidermike007 said:

it will be very difficult for her to find a job, beyond manager of a local Kmart. If that.

I heard there were some vacancies in Tehrangeles.

(For those who've never head that term - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tehrangeles)

57 minutes ago, Leopold Bloom said:

But for all her incompetence, she was undoubtedly the best eye candy to walk through the halls of Homeland Security....That surely is worth something?...

She was modestly attractive at best, and even when a woman is spectacular in appearance once you figure out who she is and once you realize that she's an absolutely cruel and heartless pig, that attraction just simply evaporates.

1 hour ago, Leopold Bloom said:

But for all her incompetence, she was undoubtedly the best eye candy to walk through the halls of Homeland Security....That surely is worth something?...

Before & after

It was time for her to go. She had made too many mistakes during her time in office. Her new replacement has total loyalty to Trump which in his eyes is the most important qualification for a senior cabinet post.

4 hours ago, JAG said:

"Shield of The Americas" eh?

Now there is a cosplay opportunity not to be missed!

Should be easy enough to identify the "agents" - they will be the ones wearing capes with their underpants over their trousers!

Does sound like another "set of initials agency" being created to operate beyond and outside oversight, checks and control!

It is a reallocation of existing resources.

Noem was on borrowed time and her mishandling of the advertising campaign was the final straw.

Democracy works. The US Senate held her responsible and ripped her apart.

1 hour ago, Leopold Bloom said:

But for all her incompetence, she was undoubtedly the best eye candy to walk through the halls of Homeland Security....That surely is worth something?...

Filler, cosmetics and Botox worked their magic.

She only got the job by sleeping with Trump's former campaign manager

1 hour ago, spidermike007 said:

it will be very difficult for her to find a job

Do you really believe that?

She'll easily find a well paying job, they all protect eachother.

11 minutes ago, Real Name Hidden said:

She only got the job by sleeping with Trump's former campaign manager

She first gained national attention by holding the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally with 500,000 participants 2020 and 2021 during the height of covid

1 hour ago, Leopold Bloom said:

But for all her incompetence, she was undoubtedly the best eye candy to walk through the halls of Homeland Security....That surely is worth something?...

You remind me of the guy who was trying to decide between 3 women, all with their own set of virtues.

He finally chose the one with the biggest tits.

2 hours ago, Leopold Bloom said:

But for all her incompetence, she was undoubtedly the best eye candy to walk through the halls of Homeland Security....That surely is worth something?...

Smile. Worth doing her assistant Lewandowski in her new airplane. Good riddance to her imo

Once she mentioned that POTUS knew about the $220m used for promoting basically herself and mishandling appropriated federal funds she was done. Dont mess with DJT’s money

5 hours ago, ASEAN NOW News said:

He said she would instead become a special envoy responsible for a security initiative called the “Shield of the Americas,” which the administration plans to unveil in the coming days.

so not fired, just moved to another post...he can't fire her as they have "history" together

1 hour ago, JerryM said:

Before & after

silicone does miracles

1 hour ago, Patong2021 said:

Filler, cosmetics and Botox worked their magic.

and maybe all charged to the American tax payers

5 minutes ago, Mavideol said:

silicone does miracles

Probably botox there too. Her face looks almost paralyzed. She looked good before. Some women are never satisfied with their looks - especially when already physically attractive.

1 hour ago, stevenl said:

Do you really believe that?

She'll easily find a well paying job, they all protect eachother.

You are probably right, though being the first one to be thrown under the bus is not exactly an honor. She's so richly deserved that fate, she was such a phony, such a liar, so incompetent, and such a butt kisser.

1 hour ago, JerryM said:

Before & after

Just like Trump she spends an hour daily getting made up, so that she looks presentable to the world. I can't even imagine what Don looks like at this point without makeup, it's probably very scary.

24 minutes ago, Mavideol said:

so not fired, just moved to another post...he can't fire her as they have "history" together

You mean she saw the extra wide mushroom cloud?