The worst of the worst: how Kristi Noem treated the American people ‘like dogs’ | Kristi Noem
Kristi Noem once took a dog into a gravel pit and ended its life with the cold precision of a mob hit. On Thursday, the secretary of homeland security faced the harsh reality that he, too, is expendable.
Noem becomes the first cabinet member to be removed from office during Donald Trump’s second term; This is a striking contrast to the revolving door chaos of his first term. Like other members of Team Trump, he assumed that ostentatious displays of loyalty to the president would isolate him.
By often putting himself at the center of the action as the face of immigration enforcement, he managed to turn Trump’s signature issue into a political liability. Add in a disastrous appearance before Congress this week, and it was enough for the president to finally reprise his reality TV line: “You’re fired!”
Trump on Wednesday recounted how Energy Secretary Chris Wright, another cabinet member, used the phrase “clean, beautiful coal” every time in a recent speech in an attempt to impress the president, instead of just mentioning “coal.” “I said Chris, calm down!” Trump reminded an amused audience.
Noem is to immigration enforcement what Wright was to coal. He tried hard. There was performative cosplay: Sometimes the 54-year-old man wore a bulletproof jacket and accompanied agents on immigration raids, as cameras recorded, but he had no law enforcement background.
The former governor of South Dakota also posed in front of a group of shirtless, tattooed men behind bars during a visit to an El Salvador prison where the Trump administration sends people it accuses of being gang members. He referred to immigrants convicted of crimes as “scum” on social media.
Meanwhile, under his leadership, there was terror as masked immigration agents descended on Los Angeles, Chicago and Washington, scouring neighborhoods and Home Depot parking lots looking for possible immigration criminals.
At first, Trump did not hesitate and welcomed the hardline approach. But Noem went too far again. The crackdown in Minneapolis spiraled out of control, with full-scale raids on the streets and tear gas. Trump realized how badly this played out on his key measure: television.
Noem hastened to say that two U.S. citizens who were fatally shot by federal immigration officers in Minneapolis were committing “domestic terrorism”; this claim was disproved by video evidence. Trump fired the operation’s architect, Greg Bovino, who reported directly to Noem, and replaced him with border czar Tom Homan, with whom Noem had worked. We had a long power struggle.
Noem has also faced mounting criticism over the way the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spends billions of dollars appropriated by Congress. two Gulfstream G700 luxury jets It’s for $172 million during the government shutdown and is on pace for emergency funding the Federal Emergency Management Agency has approved for disaster response.
Then there were his personal scandals, including long-standing scandals. extramarital affair rumors He is with Trump’s top aide, Corey Lewandowski, who was his first campaign manager in 2016. He too has now been dismissed. A US coast guard pilot was allegedly dismissed after one of Noem’s personal blankets was left on the plane; However, since there was no one else to fly the return leg, he was reinstated.
The issue came to a head this week when Noem faced two days of grilling on Capitol Hill, drawing rare but harsh criticism from Republicans. A particular point of review was: A $220 million advertising campaign This included a scene on horseback at Mount Rushmore in Noem’s home state of South Dakota.
Noem told members of Congress that Trump was aware of the campaign in advance, but Trump disputed this in an interview with Reuters. “I never knew anything about it,” he said.
This was the last straw. Trump was said to be “particularly upset” by Noem’s deceptive response. Punchbowl News reportedand asked Republicans whether they should fire him. He soon announced on social media that Noem would become special envoy for the Inter-American Shield, while Markwayne Mullin, a Republican senator from Oklahoma, would take over DHS.
Knocking out Noem was the right decision for the wrong reason. Elizabeth Warren, Democratic senator from Massachusetts He responded on Thursday: “So let me get this straight: Trump fired Noem because she lied about spending more than $200 million of taxpayer money on ads promoting him. But he didn’t lift a finger after two Americans were murdered by his federal agents?”
In fact, many will consider Noem the worst homeland security secretary ever. He demonized immigrants and caused misery by targeting non-criminal, working immigrants and families. The number of deaths in immigration detention rose to the highest level in two decades during his tenure, while staffing in DHS surveillance offices was reduced.
Miles Taylor, who was chief of staff at DHS during Trump’s first term. Published on X: “Kristi Noem will be remembered for treating the American people the way she treats her dogs.”
