President Donald Trump announced Thursday that he is firing Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem from her post and appointing Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Oklahoma, to replace her.
Noem’s firing from the Department of Homeland Security comes in the wake of a wave of criticism of the former South Dakota governor’s management of the agency and her heavy-handed response to President Trump’s immigration enforcement policies, which led to the killing of two Americans by federal agents in Minnesota in January.
She is the first Cabinet secretary to be fired during President Trump’s second term, but in contrast to his first term, the turnover in the top post was relatively quiet.
Noem was rumored to be on thin ice with a president who likes to be in charge. Noem was the top name in the first year of the second Trump administration and has been the target of criticism, especially from Democrats. President Trump fired her after a harrowing hearing earlier this week that also featured Republicans.
Sen. Thom Tillis, RN.C., said during Tuesday’s hearing where Noem testified that her leadership of DHS has been a “disaster.” Noem also fielded questions about the $220 million ad campaign that features her prominently.
“We are an exceptional country,” Tillis told her that day. “And one of the reasons we’re exceptional is that we expect exceptional leadership. And you’ve demonstrated anything but that.”
During a House Judiciary Committee hearing on Wednesday, Noem, who is married, was asked whether she had ever had sex with top counsel Corey Lewandowski, who is also married.
She called the question “tabloid trash” and refused to answer.
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
President Trump announced Noem’s firing in a post on Truth Social on Thursday, saying, “Current Secretary Kristi Noem, who has served us well and accomplished many great things (especially at the border!), will be moved to become Special Envoy for the Shield of the Americas, a new security initiative for the Western Hemisphere that she will unveil on Saturday in Doral, Florida.”
President Trump added, “I appreciate Ms. Christie’s work on ‘Homeland.’
President Trump is scheduled to invite like-minded Western Hemisphere leaders over the weekend to announce a security alliance.
Noem went on to speak at the Benevolent Sergeants Association Major City Conference in Nashville shortly after her firing was announced. Speaking calmly from behind a podium, she answered questions from a live audience about the logistics of law enforcement but did not mention her own firing.
Noem did not address her ouster, nor did she address audience questions about the DHS contract or other more mundane matters.
After the speech, she expressed gratitude for President Trump’s new role as special envoy in a post about X.
Marin must be confirmed by the Senate before she can officially take over as DHS secretary. But President Trump said Marin would take up the post starting March 31. Trump may also appoint Marin as his deputy.
“I’m honored to be nominated,” Marin told reporters at the Capitol. He said he had just received the news as well.
“We’re looking forward to it and looking forward to getting to work, but there’s still a nomination process to go through,” Mullin said.
“We want to make the Department of Homeland Security work for the American people, and that will be our focus,” he said. “So we’re open to new ideas and, like I said, we’re committed to taking on the jobs that we have to do.”
Mullin was elected in a special election to serve the unexpired term of the late Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), who is retiring midway through his term in 2023.
He served as a member of the House of Representatives before his election to the Senate, and was first elected in 2012. Mullin was a staunch ally of Trump and a top communicator in the Republican caucus during his time in the Senate. Marin frequently holds court with reporters in the Senate hallways and is a regular on network television shows and cable news.
Mullin rose to prominence during negotiations over the Republican Party’s massive tax cuts and spending bill of 2025, known as “One Big Beautiful Bill.” He served as an informal liaison between the House and Senate during the negotiations, relaying concerns between the often conflicting chambers.
Marin supported Senate Majority Leader John Thune in the race for the top Senate seat. He is expected to have broad support from Republican senators and has already won one Democratic supporter, Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania. For senators, votes from their colleagues tend to ease the confirmation process in the Senate.
Democrats responded positively to Noem’s firing. House Majority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York told reporters after President Trump’s announcement that Noem was “good.”
Mr. Jeffries said of Mr. Marin, “I have no comment at this time regarding his future.”
He added: “Personnel changes alone are not enough.” “Kristi Noem was a disgrace.”
Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) (L) and Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) (R-Kan.) speak during the nomination hearing for Dr. Casey Means, Surgeon General of the Surgeon General and Surgeon General of the United States Army, during a Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee hearing on February 25, 2026, at the Capitol in Washington, DC.
Andrew Harnik | Getty Images
In a social media post Thursday, President Trump praised Marin as a “MAGA warrior and former undefeated professional mixed martial artist” who “really gets along with people and knows the wisdom and courage it takes to advance America First policies.”
“Mark Wayne will continue to work tirelessly to secure our borders, stop immigrants, murderers, and other criminals from entering the country illegally, end the scourge of illegal drugs, and make America safe again,” President Trump said. “Mark Wayne would make a great Secretary of Homeland Security.”
—CNBC’s Caleigh Keating and Justin Papp contributed to this article.
