Trump fires Kristi Noem as homeland security secretary : NPR

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem attends a meeting in the Oval Office on November 17, 2025.

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President Trump fired Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and said Republican Sen. Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma would replace her.

Noem “will become special envoy for Americas Shield, our new Western Hemisphere security initiative that we are announcing Saturday in Doral, Florida,” Trump said on social media. “I thank Kristi for her service to ‘Homeland’.”

Noem is the first Cabinet secretary to leave the Trump administration during Trump’s second term. The announcement comes after Noem spent two days being questioned by congressional lawmakers about her leadership.

Mullin is a defender of the president and his immigration agenda.

“A MAGA warrior and former undefeated professional MMA fighter, Markwayne truly gets along with people and knows the wisdom and courage it takes to advance our America First agenda,” Trump said in his message, highlighting Mullin’s position as the only Native American in the Senate. “Markwayne will make a spectacular Secretary of Homeland Security. Thank you for your attention to this issue!”

Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., speaks at a Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearing last month.

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Mullin will need to be confirmed by the Senate to take on the role permanently.

Noem, who previously served as governor of South Dakota, had been at the forefront of Trump’s efforts to carry out mass deportations. After her confirmation, she quickly became the face of the administration’s immigration agenda — directing multimillion-dollar ads calling on people to self-deport, holding news conferences across the United States touting deportation numbers and leading international visits designed to promote Trump’s vision.

This is the most high-profile departure in recent weeks at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Madison Sheahan, former deputy director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, left her post earlier this year to run for Congress. The department’s top spokeswoman, Tricia McLaughlin, left her post last month.

Entering her second year on the job, Noem faced bipartisan criticism over her leadership of an immigration enforcement campaign in Minneapolis, where she deployed 3,000 agents and two U.S. citizens were killed. Some of the loudest voices on the right in favor of his resignation have come from Sen. Thom Tillis, North Carolina, who is not running for re-election, and Lisa Murkowski, of Alaska.

Other Republicans denounced Noem after she called Alex Pretti, 37, who was fatally shot by two Border Patrol agents, a “domestic terrorist” before an investigation began. After the event, Congress, facing opposition from Democrats, failed to pass a budget to fund DHS and attempted to negotiate immigration enforcement reforms.

Noem was invited to testify before the Senate and House Judiciary Committees in early March – when her agency was in the third week of shutdown. She said 100,000 employees had been laid off, including those working in cybersecurity and disaster relief.

During the hearings, she sparred with lawmakers from both parties over tactics used by immigration agents, her agency’s spending and her broader leadership. Noem also received questions about a letter sent by DHS Inspector General Joseph Cuffari accusing Noem’s department of “systematically obstructing the work of the DHS Office of Inspector General” as it sought data related to immigrant apprehensions, airport security programs and counterintelligence.

Noem was the face of the mass deportation program

When Noem led the 250,000-person agency, DHS was at the center of an ambitious effort to arrest, detain and deport 1 million people without legal status each year. DHS data released in the fall shows the department has deported 605,000 people and has a historically high number of people in immigration detention.

As secretary, Noem oversaw the start of a hiring spree to recruit thousands of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, as well as the proliferation of Border Patrol agents as law enforcement officers across the country.

Noem’s confirmation out of the Senate passed, despite questions about the amount of money the department was requesting to carry out immigration enforcement and policy directives from top White House officials, like border czar Tom Homan.

While in office, Noem took a close look at the management of national disaster relief and resources and her selection of Corey Lewandowski, a former Trump campaign aide, for a special advisory role to DHS employees. Noem’s DHS has also regularly found itself in the crosshairs of legal scrutiny — from immigration courts to the Supreme Court. Federal district judges blocked DHS from using its war powers to speed up deportations and ordered the return of some deportees.

If confirmed, Mullins will advise the president on a wide range of security issues. This also includes responsibility for the Coast Guard and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, as well as a leading role in counterterrorism, aviation security and cybersecurity.

Turnover in Trump’s Cabinet has been minimal this term so far. During his first term, Trump had five DHS secretaries, including three acting secretaries.