US Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem attends a House Judiciary Committee hearing on “Oversight of Homeland Security” to testify at the Capitol on March 4, 2026 in Washington, DC, USA.
Elizabeth Franz | Reuters
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem appeared before the House Judiciary Committee for nearly seven hours Wednesday, the second day in a row that she was grilled by lawmakers on Capitol Hill.
It was an easier day for her than Tuesday, when the Senate Judiciary Committee, which includes Republican Thom Tillis of North Carolina, criticized her work and Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) said the killing of two people in Minnesota’s immigration crackdown was unacceptable. The House Republican caucus generally works more closely with President Donald Trump than the Senate caucus.
Here are five key points Noem made the day before the House Judiciary Committee.
1. Nomu refuses to apologize for domestic terrorism remarks
Noem did not take the opportunity to apologize for her comments labeling the two Americans shot and killed by federal immigration agents as domestic terrorists.
Asked by Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), the committee’s ranking member, if she wanted to apologize for her comments, Noem offered condolences to the families of those killed, but declined to apologize for her comments.
“My heart is with them and we will continue to support them until they conduct a full investigation into these situations,” Noem said.
Noem said immediately after the shootings of Alex Preti and Renee Good that they were involved in an act of “domestic terrorism.” Video of the subsequent shooting contradicted those claims.
2. Noem never said she never had sex with Corey Levandowski
Rep. Sidney Kamlager-Dove asked Noem if she ever had a “sexual relationship” with top adviser Corey Lewandowski during her tenure as head of DHS.
Noem dismissed the question as “tabloid trash” but refused to confirm under oath that she had never had a sexual relationship with Lewandowski. Both have publicly denied having an affair, as reported by multiple media outlets.
“I am shocked that we are peddling tabloid trash on this committee today,” Noem said. “He’s a special public servant who works in the White House, and there are thousands of civil servants in the federal government.”
“I find it offensive that you brought it up. That kind of nonsense has been pushed back for years,” Noem said.
Rep. Jared Moskowitz, D-Florida, gave Noem another chance to say “no” to whether the incident happened.
“This is something I have argued against for years and continue to do so,” Noem said. “Socialist liberal leftists, what you guys are doing is attacking conservative women and saying we’re either stupid or sluts.”
3. Noem has received little criticism from Republicans.
Unlike Monday, when Noem criticized Tillis for saying it was a “disaster” for the Department of Homeland Security under her watch, House Republicans took a relatively light approach to criticizing Noem.
Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) implored Noem to strictly abide by the Fourth Amendment, which requires a judicial warrant to enter private residences. Democrats are calling for judicial warrants to be required for immigrant arrests.
“I think it would be helpful to have a judicial warrant to enter a residence or private property,” Massey said.
Noem also came under fire from Rep. Kevin Kiley (R-Calif.) over federal emergency management agency funding for wildfire prevention.
“We’re waiting for signatures. It’s my understanding that the new requirement is that anything over $100,000 must be approved by the Secretary,” Kiley said. “Do you have any idea why we can’t take action on this?”
Noem said if the grant money is being held up, it’s by FEMA, an agency under DHS, not her. She also said, “There is no requirement to agree to a $100,000 grant, but there is a requirement to review the contract.”
4. Everyone wants to express their opinion
The hearing with Noem lasted nearly seven hours, with breaks in between.
Lawmakers typically take advantage of ministerial appearances before committees to hone their fundraising efforts and seize a high-profile moment with a question.
That makes it more likely that all members of Congress will want to use their five minutes to question a secretary like Noem, who has come under fire for implementing the president’s immigration policies.
5. Nomu testified during the wartime shutdown.
Noem’s testimony came during a DHS shutdown as Democrats demand changes to the way President Trump conducts immigration policy. If the shutdown continues, some employees may not get paid next week.
The closure coincides with the Iran war, posing a growing security threat to the United States.
Noem lamented the government shutdown while the war continues.
“The men and women of our department continue to stand up and do their jobs if they are not furloughed due to lack of funding,” Noem said. “It would be great to have them…as far as preparing for any kind of attacks we might face.”
