Trump fires Kristi Noem

Ebba Thorneus

Updated 20.30 | Published 19.04

            

           Kristi Noem. Photo: AP

Donald Trump fires criticized Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.

He writes this himself on Truth Social.

She is replaced by Senator Markwayne Mullin.

The news that the much-hyped Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem is now being fired has been widely reported, but was confirmed by the president himself on Thursday evening, Swedish time:

“I am pleased to announce that the highly respected Senator from the state of Oklahoma, Markwayne Mullin, will become the United States Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS), effective March 31, 2026. The current Secretary, Kristi Noem, who has served us well and has achieved many and spectacular results (especially at the border!), will become the Special Envoy for The Shield of the Americas, our new security initiative that we are announcing on Saturday in Doral, Florida. I thank Kristi for her service on ‘Homeland.’”

  

Trump thanks Noem for her efforts. Photo: Mark Schiefelbein /AP/TT

Criticism storm

Criticism of Noem, who has been the face of the Trump administration's strict immigration policy and the most responsible for the immigration police ICE's operations in Minneapolis, among other places, has grown sharply recently.

In a long review, the Wall Street Journal has described how employees are alarmed about total chaos at Trump's security department and how Kristi Noem is accused of running a reign of terror with her closest advisor.

Senior representatives of the Democrats, but also prominent Republicans, have demanded her resignation when it was discovered that she made obvious inaccuracies regarding, among other things, the incident in Minneapolis, where federal agents shot and killed two American citizens while searching for undocumented migrants.

According to sources to the Wall Street Journal, however, the final straw was a “combative hearing” in the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday regarding Noem’s decision to allocate $200 million for an advertising campaign, in which she herself urges those living illegally in the United States to deport themselves.
Should shorten the name

At the hearing, Noem told senators that the president himself had approved the advertising campaign – a claim that Trump says is not true.

           

           Markwayne Mullin. Photo: J Scott Applewhite/AP

Noem’s successor, Markwayne Mullin, is a businessman and since 2023 a senator from Oklahoma in the United States Senate. He was a member of the United States House of Representatives between 2013 and 2023.

The name Markwayne comes from the fact that his mother put two names on his birth certificate – Mark and Wayne – to pay tribute to his two uncles.

The plan was for the family to later choose one of the names, but that never happened.

“As a MAGA warrior and former undefeated professional MMA fighter, Markwayne truly connects with people and knows the wisdom and courage needed to advance our America First agenda,” Trump himself writes about the new Homeland Security Secretary on Truth Social.

            

           Kristi Noem has been heavily criticized. Photo: Mariam Zuhaib /AP/TT / AP