- Trump fires Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem after a brief, chaotic tenure.
- Her dismissal follows disastrous congressional testimony over a controversial ad campaign.
- Noem also refused to directly deny an alleged affair with a senior adviser under oath.
- Her leadership was criticized for internal strife and damaging agencies like FEMA.
- Oklahoma Senator Markwayne Mullin is named as her replacement effective March 2026.
In a dramatic shakeup of his cabinet, President Donald Trump has fired Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, ending a tenure marred by controversy and internal strife. The president announced on social media that Oklahoma Senator Markwayne Mullin will take the helm of the sprawling department effective March 31, 2026.
Noem, whose leadership faced growing bipartisan criticism, will transition to a new role as Special Envoy for The Shield of the Americas, a Western Hemisphere security initiative. The move culminates a week of damaging congressional testimony and reveals a president who had reached his limit with a secretary he saw as more focused on self-promotion than execution.
According to multiple reports, Trump’s dissatisfaction boiled over following Noem’s appearances on Capitol Hill. Senator John Kennedy, a Louisiana Republican, described the president as "pissed" after Noem testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday. A key point of contention was a $220 million taxpayer-funded advertising campaign that featured Noem herself urging undocumented immigrants to self-deport. Noem claimed under oath that Trump had approved the campaign, a statement that directly contradicted the president’s own account. “I never knew anything about it,” Trump later told Reuters.
A disastrous hearing seals the fate
The situation deteriorated further during a House Judiciary Committee hearing on Wednesday. There, under oath and with her husband in attendance, Noem was asked point-blank by Democratic Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove about allegations of an extramarital affair with Corey Lewandowski, an unpaid senior adviser at her department. “Have you had sexual relations with Corey Lewandowski?” Kamlager-Dove asked. Noem refused to give a direct answer, calling the question "tabloid garbage" and "offensive." When pressed for a simple "yes" or "no," she again deflected. Sources inside and close to the White House told the New York Post this evasion was the “final straw” for Trump.
The president had been aware of the long-rumored relationship and had even joked about it, but Noem’s inability to categorically deny it during official testimony was seen as a catastrophic political misstep. “It kept mounting up,” one source said. Another said, “There was just no going back with the two hearings. It all became about her and him.” An administration official summarized the dismissal as “the culmination of her many unfortunate leadership failures,” citing the Minnesota incidents, the ad campaign, allegations of infidelity, staff mismanagement, and feuds with other agency heads.
A department in turmoil looks for stability
Noem’s tenure was defined by a flashy, aggressive style aimed at fulfilling Trump’s immigration agenda, but it also fostered internal chaos. She tightened control over departmental spending, which led to delays in disaster relief. Her overhaul of FEMA drove out experienced staff and, according to a high-ranking FEMA official, left the agency unprepared for major catastrophes. “It will take decades to fix the damage she has caused,” the official told CNN. Multiple Homeland Security officials expressed relief at her ouster, with one calling it “long overdue.”
Her close association with Lewandowski, who served as her de facto chief of staff, created a culture of fear within the department. His expected departure alongside Noem is anticipated by many as a chance for a reset. The administration hopes Mullin will provide a steadier hand. In his announcement, Trump praised the Oklahoma senator as a “MAGA Warrior” and a “former undefeated professional MMA fighter” who “knows the Wisdom and Courage required to Advance our America First Agenda.”
Mullin, who will inherit an agency central to Trump’s legacy, briefly commented after the announcement, saying his focus would be to “keep the homeland secure.” His alignment with Trump’s immigration priorities is clear, though he has previously broken with the president by calling the January 6 Capitol attack a “riot” and a “horrible day.”
For Noem, the end came abruptly. She learned of her firing just as she arrived to give a speech in Nashville, remaining in her car for several minutes after getting the call from Trump. She proceeded to deliver her remarks without mentioning her dismissal, a surreal coda to a tumultuous year in office. The swift fall of a once-rising star in Republican politics serves as a reminder that in Trump’s Washington, loyalty and results are paramount, and the spotlight can become a blinding, career-ending glare when it shines on the wrong controversies.
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