Kristi Noem speaks at the Compassionate Sergeants’ Conference at the Grand Hyatt in Nashville, Tennessee, on March 5, 2026, shortly after President Donald Trump announced his successor as Secretary of Homeland Security.
Nicole Hester | via Reuters
Democrats said Thursday that President Donald Trump’s firing of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem will not break the DHS funding logjam.
President Trump announced his dismissal in a post on Truth Social on Thursday and nominated Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) to replace him. His firing comes amid a funding lapse for DHS that began on February 14th. Democrats are trying to negotiate new immigration enforcement policies within DHS to crack down on what they see as overreach.
Asked Thursday whether Noem’s departure had changed DHS’s funding dynamics, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (DR.I.) said, “It hasn’t changed one bit.” “Until we get clear guarantees that ICE and CBP will improve their behavior and start acting like real police officers instead of running around like a bunch of thugs and lunatics.”
Democrats have called for sweeping reforms to DHS after federal agents shot and killed two Americans during an immigration crackdown in Minneapolis in January. Democrats maintained their position after the United States entered a conflict with Iran over the weekend, raising fears of retaliation from Iran and its supporters.
They called on federal immigration officials to stop wearing masks, start wearing body cameras and stop warrantless searches. The White House and Republicans have rejected those demands as the partial government shutdown drags on.
House Republican Conference Chairwoman Lisa McClain (R-Mich.) was asked at a press conference Thursday what kind of compromise Democrats and Republicans could find, and she said, “Not a lot.”
“Because what they’re asking is completely ridiculous,” McClain said.
On Thursday, most Senate Democrats blocked a proposal to fund DHS for the third time. The House of Representatives also took up DHS funding on Thursday, with four Democrats joining all Republicans in advancing the bill on a 221-209 vote. However, the bill does not have enough support in the Senate to pass the filibuster threshold of 60 votes, so the government shutdown will continue.
Mullin, a staunch Trump ally who serves on the Senate Appropriations Committee, must be approved by his Senate colleagues before taking on the permanent role. President Trump said Marin would take office on March 31st.
“Good job,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said of Noem in a video posted to X. “But DHS’s problems run much deeper than one person’s problems. They must rein in ICE and end the violence.”
Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), a ranking member of the Senate Appropriations and Homeland Security Subcommittee and a vocal critic of the Trump administration’s immigration policies, echoed Schumer’s sentiments.
“I’m glad she’s gone,” Murphy told reporters Thursday, referring to Trump’s chief of staff and Homeland Security adviser. “She was incompetent and the worst for the country. But she wasn’t in charge. Stephen Miller was in charge, and that won’t change.”
