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US President Donald Trump has announced that Republican Sen. Markwayne Mullin will replace Kristi Noem as Secretary of Homeland Security.
In a social media post on Thursday, President Trump explained that he had reappointed Nomu as special envoy for a new security initiative focused on the Western Hemisphere called the “Shield of the Americas.”
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He added that the personnel changes will come into effect from March 31. This is the first major Cabinet-level shakeup so far in President Trump’s second term.
President Trump praised Noem for “serving us well and accomplishing many great things (especially at the border!)” as she resigned from her Cabinet-level post.
But Noem has played a key role in some of the administration’s most controversial immigration policies, and her tenure at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has spurred questions about government spending and conflicts of interest.
Her resignation announcement comes a day after she faced intense scrutiny from Democrats in Congressional hearings this week, with several politicians calling for her resignation.
“DHS is supposed to protect our residents and protect our constitutional protections. But you’ve turned that on its head. You’ve actually pitted the United States government against its own residents,” Democratic Rep. Pramila Jayapal said during Wednesday’s hearing.
“Your case is an example of leadership failure. Secretary, you have no right to lead this agency and you should resign, be fired, or be impeached.”
The announcement of Noem’s firing comes as DHS continues to navigate a partial government shutdown.
Democrats have opposed approving new funding for the department in response to deadly shootings by immigration officials under Noem’s leadership.
The shootings were brought up again this week when Noem appeared before the House and Senate Judiciary Committees.
Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin, for example, repeatedly accused Noem of launching a “smear campaign” against Renee Goode and Alex Preti, two Americans who were shot and killed during an interaction with immigration officials.
“There will be three murders in Minneapolis in 2026, two of which were committed by your agents,” Raskin told Noem.
He also highlighted comments by Noem calling Good and Preti “domestic terrorists,” despite evidence that contradicts the government’s portrayal of the events that led to their deaths.
“Instead of working with state and local authorities to solve murders, they shut Minnesota investigators out of the crime scene,” Raskin said.
“It smells like a cover-up and makes me wonder who the real domestic terrorists are.”
Former South Dakota Republican Gov. Noem is also under scrutiny for his $220 million ad campaign promoting border security.
The ad campaign depicts Noem riding a horse near Mount Rushmore, a famous national monument in her home state.
News outlet ProPublica previously reported that a government contract for the campaign went to a Republican consulting firm with ties to senior DHS officials.
Noem has denied any wrongdoing, saying the bidding process was “competitive” and the contract was “all done correctly, all done legally.”
On Thursday, before announcing the personnel changes, Trump denied any connection to the ad campaign, telling Reuters he “didn’t know anything about it.”
Noem has played a key role in her administration’s push for mass deportations and has frequently used rhetoric disparaging immigrants as dangerous and violent.
Although her DHS mission focuses on domestic security, Noem has traveled internationally several times in the past year, including visits to Ecuador in July and November.
President Trump will host an “American Shield” summit this weekend at his Mar-a-Lago mansion, inviting world leaders from multiple countries to discuss regional security and combating Chinese influence in Latin America.
Mullin, who replaced Noem as DHS secretary, has been a senator since 2023, but previously represented Oklahoma in the House of Representatives for the past 10 years.
President Trump emphasized that he is a member of the Cherokee Nation and wrote that Mullin would be a “great advocate for our great tribal community” as leader of DHS.
“Mark Wayne will work tirelessly to secure our borders, stop criminal immigrants, murderers, and other criminals from entering the country illegally, end the scourge of illegal drugs, and make America safe again,” President Trump said Thursday.
