U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem attends a House Judiciary Committee hearing on “Oversight of the Department of Homeland Security” to testify, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., March 4, 2026.
Elizabeth Frantz | Reuters
President Donald Trump on Thursday said Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem was leaving her post, and that she would be replaced by Sen. Markwayne Mullin, an Oklahoma Republican.
Noem’s departure from the Department of Homeland Security came after a wave of criticism of her management of the department and her handling of Trump’s immigration enforcement agenda, which saw two American citizens killed by federal agents in Minnesota in January.
Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., during a hearing Tuesday where Noem was testifying, called her leadership of DHS a “disaster.”
“We’re an exceptional nation,” Tillis told her that day. “And one of the reasons we’re exceptional
is we expect exceptional leadership. And you have demonstrated anything but that.”
At a hearing on Wednesday by the House Judiciary Committee, Noem, who is married, was asked if she has ever had sex with her top advisor, Corey Lewandowski, who is also married. She refused to answer, calling the question “tabloid garbage.”
Trump, in a post Thursday on Truth Social, said “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,”
“I thank Kristi for her service at ‘Homeland,’ ” Trump added.
Mullin would have to be confirmed as DHS secretary by the Senate.
But Trump said Mullin would begin serving in that post on March 31.
Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) (L), accompanied by Sen. Roger Marshall (R-KS) (R), speaks during a nomination hearing for Dr. Casey Means, for the medical director in the Regular Corps of the Public Health Service and U.S. surgeon general during a Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearing on Capitol Hill on Feb. 25, 2026 in Washington, DC.
Andrew Harnik | Getty Images
The president, in his social media post, lauded Mullin, calling him “a MAGA Warrior, and former undefeated professional MMA fighter” who “truly gets along well with people, and knows the Wisdom and Courage required to Advance our America First Agenda.”
“Markwayne will work tirelessly to Keep our Border Secure, Stop Migrant Crime, Murderers, and other Criminals from illegally entering our Country, End the Scourge of Illegal Drugs and, MAKE AMERICA SAFE AGAIN,” Trump said. “Markwayne will make a spectacular Secretary of Homeland Security.”
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