President Donald Trump announced the firing of Kristi Noem, secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, on March 5, making her the first official to leave his cabinet in his second term. Noem had just wrapped up a year of overseeing and leading Trump’s mass deportation agenda.
An administration official told NBC that Trump fired Noem due to her poor leadership “including the fallout in Minnesota, the ad campaign, the allegations of infidelity, the mismanagement of her staff and her constant feuding with the heads of other agencies” like U.S. Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Although Noem is no longer the secretary of the DHS, Trump appointed her the special envoy for the Shield of the Americas, a new initiative aiming to combat drug trafficking and illegal immigration.
Noem thanked Trump on X, writing, “In this new role, I will be able to build on the partnerships and national security expertise, I forged over the last 13 months as Secretary of Homeland Security.”
Trump announced that Oklahoma Sen. Markwayne Mullin will become the new secretary beginning March 31, calling him a “MAGA Warrior.” Mullin expressed excitement toward his new position and mentioned that he and Trump are “great friends.”
During Noem’s time as secretary, she carried out Trump’s agenda in decision making, urging mass deportations that lead to distrust and criticism among citizens and government officials.
Noem had also spent $220 million on ads convincing individuals staying in the U.S. illegally to self deport.
She told the Senate Judiciary Committee that Trump approved the money for the campaign, despite the White House’s denial over the claim.
Since 2025, the DHS has spent over $80 million airing deportation ads, according to AdImpact.
Under the current administration, the DHS has intensified efforts to arrest and detain those without legal status, with a goal to deport one million people each year.
A December 2025 press release from the DHS mentioned it has deported 605,000 individuals since Jan. 20, 2025 and 1.9 million have self-deported, an all-time record for the number of people leaving the U.S.
Noem also faced backlash from citizens in Minneapolis, where she deployed roughly 3,000 officers, some of whose violent tactics lead to the killing of U.S. citizens Alex Pretti and Renée Good.
“How many more residents, how many more Americans need to die or get badly hurt for this operation to end?” Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said. “How many more lives need to be lost before this administration realizes that a political and partisan narrative is not as important as American values?”
After Trump fired Noem, Democrats have expressed relief following her departure.
“Good riddance,” House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries said during a press conference. “She was a disaster.”
However, he noted that it would not affect the stance of Democrats toward funding the DHS, which has been partially shut down since mid-February due to Senate Democrats blocking spending.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer shared a similar sentiment.
“I don’t trust any one person being in charge of this agency as long as Trump is president, given the policies he’s espoused, given how ICE has been structured,” he said according to The Guardian. “The rot is deep.”
