Overview
- Trump announced that Noem will depart March 31 and that she is the first Cabinet member removed in his second term.
- Oklahoma Sen. Markwayne Mullin has been nominated to lead DHS and will require Senate confirmation, with the option to serve in an acting capacity under vacancy rules while his nomination is pending.
- This week’s House and Senate hearings featured sharp Republican and Democratic criticism, including scrutiny of a roughly $220 million DHS ad campaign Noem said Trump approved, a claim the president denied to Reuters.
- Noem’s handling of a Minneapolis enforcement surge, including her labeling of the fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti as “domestic terrorism,” intensified calls for her removal.
- Noem will be reassigned as Special Envoy for the administration’s Shield of the Americas initiative as DHS continues to confront an unresolved funding lapse and ongoing oversight investigations.