Trump fires Homeland Security Secretary Noem after building criticism over immigration enforcement

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump connected Thursday fired his embattled Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and said helium volition nominate successful her spot Oklahoma Republican Sen. Markwayne Mullin.

Trump made the announcement connected societal media connected Thursday, 2 days aft Noem faced a grilling connected Capitol Hill from GOP members arsenic good arsenic Democrats.

Trump says he’ll marque Noem a "Special Envoy for The Shield of the Americas,” a caller information inaugural that helium said would absorption connected the Western Hemisphere.

Noem is the archetypal Cabinet caput to permission during Trump’s 2nd term. Noem’s departure caps a tumultuous tenure overseeing migration enforcement tactics that person been met with protests and lawsuits.

Noem has faced waves of disapproval arsenic she’s overseen Trump’s migration crackdown, particularly since the shooting deaths of 2 protesters successful Minneapolis astatine the hands of migration enforcement officers. The erstwhile South Dakota politician was besides criticized implicit the mode her section has spent billions of dollars allocated to it by Congress.

Frustrations implicit Noem’s execution of the Republican president’s hard-line migration docket — peculiarly her enactment aft the shooting deaths of the 2 U.S. citizens successful Minneapolis — arsenic good arsenic her handling of catastrophe response, paved the mode for her downfall. She faced blistering disapproval from Democrats, and immoderate Republicans, successful Congress hearings this week implicit those issues and others.

Aside from immigration, Noem besides faced disapproval — including from Republicans — implicit the gait of exigency backing approved done the Federal Emergency Management Agency and for the Trump administration’s effect to disasters.

Mullin would request to beryllium confirmed by the Senate, but nether a national instrumentality governing enforcement subdivision vacancies, helium would beryllium allowed to service arsenic an acting Homeland Security caput arsenic agelong arsenic his information is formally pending.

Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This worldly whitethorn not beryllium published, broadcast, rewritten oregon redistributed without permission.