Trump fires DHS Secretary Kristi Noem after chaotic hearings: Live updates
President Donald Trump has fired Kristi Noem from her role as Homeland Security Secretary following her “disastrous” hearings in front of House and Senate committees this week.
It ends Noem’s year-long tenure at the department that is leading Trump’s mass deportation efforts and an anti-immigration campaign that has targeted thousands of immigrants and their families.
Reports that Trump was “not happy” with Noem and that he was preparing to fire her began circulating Thursday late morning.
Trump announced Noem would be leaving her role at the end of the month in a post on Truth Social Thursday afternoon and tapped Sen. Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma as her replacement. Minutes after the president ousted her, Noem appeared on stage to speak at a conference in Nashville.
The president said Noem would become a special envoy for the “Shield of the Americas,” which he said was a new security initiative.
“The current Secretary, Kristi Noem, who has served us well, and has had numerous and spectacular results (especially on the Border!), will be moving to be Special Envoy for The Shield of the Americas, our new Security Initiative in the Western Hemisphere we are announcing on Saturday in Doral, Florida,” Trump said.
“I thank Kristi for her service at ‘Homeland.’”
In pictures: A look back at ‘Cosplay Kristi’
The outgoing Homeland Security Secretary was branded “Cosplay Kristi” for her penchant for a photoshoot.
Noem often emulated uniforms worn by border patrol and ICE agents, as well as the U.S. Coast Guard.
Noem met with Trump at the White House in January amid calls for her resignation
Trump met with Noem at the White House in January amid growing calls for her resignation after federal agents killed two people in Minneapolis.
The president had not previously suggested her job was at risk and insisted she was “doing a very good job,” he told reporters at the time.
But reports Thursday morning all pointed toward her imminent departure.
Noem ‘is aware’ of Trump’s Truth Social post
Noem is still speaking at the Major Cities Conference, and appeared just minutes after Trump announced he was firing her from her role as Homeland Security chief.
She has not yet acknowledged the news, prompting speculation that she may not be aware. However, CNN reports that Noem “was aware” of Trump’s Truth Social post about her firing before she went on stage.
Noem claimed Trump knew about $220 million ad campaign
The president denied this in an interview with Reuters on Thursday.
“I never knew anything about it,” he said.
Kennedy asked Noem at the hearing: “The president approved ahead of time you spending $220 million running TV ads across the country?”
“Yes, sir,” Noem replied. “We went through the legal processes, did it correctly.”
When pressed again whether the president knew Noem was going ahead, she replied, “Yes.”
Kennedy told reporters that he spoke with Trump after the hearing.
“The president of the United States called me, and I’m not going to speak for him, folks, but, I would put it this way: his recollection and her recollection are different,” he said.
“I can assure you, he is not happy with her,” an unnamed lawmaker who spoke with Trump this week about Noem told NBC.
“She did horrible in the hearings and has made a lot of errors.”
Noem’s $200 million ad campaign was final straw for Trump
Initial reports of Noem’s imminent departure followed two days of combative hearings in Congress, where the now-former secretary faced bipartisan frustration over the fatal shootings of two protesters in Minnesota and her handling of multi-million dollar contracts for an advertising campaign in which she was prominently featured.
Those contracts appeared to be the final straw for the president. Trump said he did not sign off on the $200 million ad campaign one day after Noem testified that the president supported it. “I never knew anything about it,” he told Reuters.
Kristi Noem speaks at event in Nashville after being ousted by Trump
Kristi Noem is at an event in Nashville after being ousted by President Donald Trump.
The outgoing Homeland Security Secretary made remarks at the Major Cities Conference, appearing just minutes after Trump’s announcement.
Noem to become ‘special envoy’ for new security initiative called ‘The Shield of the Americas’
Trump said that Noem will step down as Homeland Security Secretary on March 31 and then become a “special envoy” for a new security initiative that he called “The Shield of the Americas.”
He said more details would be announced Saturday in Doral, Florida.
Full story: Trump fires Noem and taps Sen. Markwayne Mullin as her replacement
Donald Trump has fired Kristi Noem as secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, ending her year-long tenure at an agency that is leading his mass deportation efforts and an anti-immigration campaign that has targeted thousands of immigrants and their families.
He has nominated Oklahoma Senator Markwayne Mullin to replace her.
Noem has “served us well,” the president announced on Truth Social Thursday.
She will be named “Special Envoy for The Shield of the Americas,” according to the president, who described the role as “our new Security Initiative in the Western Hemisphere.” The initiative will be formally announced Saturday, he said.
“I thank Kristi for her service at ‘Homeland,’” he wrote.
Alex Woodward has the details.
President Donald Trump fires DHS Secretary Kristi Noem
President Donald Trump has fired Kristi Noem as Homeland Security Secretary, he announced in a Truth Social post Thursday afternoon.
Reports that Trump was “not happy” with Noem and that he was preparing to fire her began circulating Thursday late morning.
Stay with us as we bring you the latest.
Source: independent.co.uk
