President Trump has fired Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, making her the first Cabinet secretary to leave his post during his second term, in a significant shake-up of his immigration enforcement apparatus. Trump said he would tap Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., to replace her, elevating a fiercely loyal first-term senator.
Mullin will become the United States Secretary of Homeland Security effective March 31, 2026, though the Senate would need to confirm Mullin to the post. Trump said Noem, who he said "has served us well," will take over a new role called "Envoy for The Shield of the Americas," described as one that will lead "our new Security Initiative in the Western Hemisphere."
The replacement marks the most visible casualty yet of immigration enforcement questions that have dogged the administration. Noem's exit leaves Trump's mass deportation agenda without its most prominent face amid a public backlash. Her tenure generated controversy on multiple fronts: immigration tactics, taxpayer spending, and personnel management.
Most damaging were the killings in Minneapolis where she deployed 3,000 officers and where two U.S. citizens were killed. Democratic Representative Jamie Raskin repeatedly accused Noem of launching a "smear campaign" against two US citizens shot dead during interactions with immigration agents: Renee Good and Alex Pretti. "There have been three homicides in Minneapolis in 2026, and your agents committed two of them," Raskin told Noem. He also highlighted comments Noem made calling Good and Pretti "domestic terrorists", despite evidence undercutting the administration's depiction of the events leading to their deaths.
Beyond the Minneapolis operation, Noem faced sustained questioning about departmental spending. In congressional hearings, lawmakers questioned Noem about the $200 million ad campaign she oversaw that urged anyone in the U.S. illegally to deport voluntarily. The ad campaign, which was conducted mostly in English, featured Noem. According to AdImpact, an ad-tracking firm, DHS has spent almost $80 million to air the ads since the start of 2025, not including the cost of production. Noem's termination was largely due to her claim in testimony to a Senate panel on Tuesday that Trump personally approved the $220 million taxpayer-funded ad campaign about DHS immigration enforcement.
She bottlenecked FEMA's Hurricane Helene disaster relief by requiring her personal approval on expenses over $100,000, cycled through three acting FEMA administrators, and presided over mass cuts to that agency's workforce. She also spent nearly $300 million in border security funds on a luxury jet fleet and $220 million more on ads featuring her.
The congressional testimony that preceded her removal revealed deeper rifts. The final straw appeared to come during her testimony before the Senate earlier this week, where she faced sharp criticism not only from Democrats, but also Republicans. When asked by reporters about the president's selection of Mullin to replace Noem, Republican Senator Thom Tillis said, "I can't think of anybody I'd more proudly want to support to come in and clean up her mess."
Mullin brings both continuity and a different profile to the role. Mullin is a relatively new face in the senate who has established himself as a close ally of Trump and a vocal defender of the administration's immigration enforcement tactics.Mullin is the second member of the Cherokee Nation to serve in the Senate. He's a rancher and business owner who spent ten years in the House of Representatives before becoming a senator in 2023.
Democrats are divided on his nomination.Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat from New York, was quick say he's "a resounding NO." "The rot in DHS is deep, much deeper than any individual. It's a question of policy not personnel," Schumer posted on X. Yetat least one Democrat offered support. Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, a member of the Homeland Security Committee, posted: "I'm not sure how many fellow Democrats will vote to support our colleague @SenMullin as the next DHS Secretary, but I am AYE."
The staffing change raises substantive questions about the administration's immigration enforcement direction. Some administration officials have suggested possible recalibration of the most aggressive tactics, though Mullin's record indicates alignment with enforcement priorities.The president's decision earlier this year to put border czar Tom Homan, an internal rival of Noem, in charge of winding down the Minneapolis operation underscored his displeasure with her performance. Since then, ICE has sought to more heavily focus on arresting immigrants in the U.S. illegally who also have criminal records, while indiscriminate and roving Border Patrol operations in major U.S. cities have been largely halted.
Whether Mullin represents a genuine shift in approach or merely a change in personnel remains unclear. What is certain is that sustained criticism, both from within GOP ranks and from the public, has made Noem's aggressive posture politically unsustainable. The challenge for Mullin will be managing the same immigration enforcement agenda whilst avoiding the controversies that felled his predecessor, an undertaking that requires both management discipline and genuine reckoning with legitimate questions about tactics, accountability, and fiscal responsibility.