Kristi Noem was appointed United States Secretary of Homeland Security after the election of President Trump. From January 25, 2025 to March 2026, she led agencies such as ICE, which is responsible for border security, immigration enforcement, and disaster response. However, this leadership reign ended on March 5, 2026.
The firing was prompted by pressure from lawmakers, as well as the ongoing argument about the department’s debatable actions led by Noem, according to PBS NewsHour.
“Trump fired Noem amid controversies over her leadership at DHS,” PBS NewsHour said.
Reuters.com reported that criticism of Noem began to grow after her congressional hearings on the actions she and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security took. These decisions raised concerns among lawmakers, such as the shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti.
“The fatal shootings of U.S. citizens by DHS employees, the aggressive tactics used in immigration enforcement, and the spending on a contract for advertising in which the secretary was featured prominently,” Reuters.com said.
The situation escalated when lawmakers were questioning Noem’s decisions during a Senate hearing. There was a lot of damage done in terms of support for her leadership.
“She was destroyed under questioning in a Senate hearing as lawmakers raised concerns over controversial immigration operations and other decisions during her tenure,” Al Jazeera.com reported.
As explained by Local10.com during the questioning about the two Minnesota victims, Noem received large criticism from Senator Dick Durbin for labeling the victims as “domestic terrorists.” Noem attempted to justify this by explaining it was a hectic moment that led to her choice of words.
“I was getting reports from the ground from agents at the scene… and I would say that it was a chaotic scene,” Noem said.
Not only were her methods questioned, but she was also questioned about the spending of over $220 million on a government advertising campaign. PolitiFact.com explains that lawmakers believed this was a highly controversial way to spend taxpayer money. This was later denied by President Trump, even though Noem claimed that he approved it.
“I [Trump] never knew anything about it,” said PolitiFact.com.
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. also joined the conversation during the hearing, describing her leadership and performance negatively, frustrated with her spending and oversight.
“Was sort of the straw, the final straw on the camel’s back,” Kennedy said.
DHS will continue to function as Al Jazeera and Reuters noted that Senator Markwayne Mullin is to succeed Noem.
“Trump tapped Senator Markwayne Mullin to take over the department following Noem’s removal, signaling a shift in leadership priorities at DHS,” said Al Jazeera.
