Donald Trump has announced that he is removing embattled DHS Secretary Kristi Noem and will nominate Oklahoma Senator Markwayne Mullin as her replacement.
Trump posted his decision on social media Thursday two days after the former secretary was interrogated on Capitol Hill by both Democrats and Republicans. Trump said he would make her a “Special Envoy for The Shield of the Americas,” a new initiative he created that focuses on the Western Hemisphere.
Noem has come under fire after an arguably troubled first year of immigration raids in certain cities around the country. Concerns about the agency and its leader hit a fever pitch after two people, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, were killed by ICE agents in Minnesota.
During the hearing, Rep. Raskin, D-Md., asked the former DHS secretary about why she lied about the deaths.
“You told a lie about them. You said they were domestic terrorists,” Raskin said.
Noem also faced other questions about the agency’s on-ground operations, particularly their treatment of American citizens. She initially claimed that Democrats had the wrong information and defended the agency’s operations.
“We do targeted enforcement based on intelligence and go after the worst of the worst,” the former DHS secretary said.
She was also questioned about an ad campaign where she encouraged undocumented immigrants to self-deport. The campaign cost an estimated $220 million.
When questioned by Republican Senator John Kennedy of Louisiana whether contracts went through a bidding process, Noem said that the spending was lawful and that Trump approved it. But, on Thursday, the administration denied her claims that Trump signed off on the expenditure.
NBC News reported on Thursday that Trump had been dissatisfied with Noem and had already begun scouting a replacement.
