Trump taps Sen. Markwayne Mullin to replace Kristi Noem at DHS
President Donald Trump said Thursday that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem is leaving her post and will be replaced by Oklahoma Republican Sen. Markwayne Mullin.
Noem’s departure Department of Homeland Security The statement follows a wave of criticism of the former South Dakota governor’s management of the department and his handling of Trump’s immigration enforcement agenda, which led to the killings of two American citizens by federal agents in Minnesota in January.
At Noem’s hearing on Tuesday, Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., called her DHS leadership “a disaster.”
“We are an extraordinary nation,” Tillis told him that day. “And one of the reasons we’re exceptional is because we expect exceptional leadership. And you’ve been anything but that.”
At a hearing held by the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday, Noem, who is married, was asked whether she had ever had sex with her top advisor, Corey Lewandowski, who is also married. He refused to answer and called the question “tabloid nonsense”.
U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem attends the House Judiciary Committee hearing on “Oversight of the Department of Homeland Security” to testify on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, USA, on March 4, 2026.
Elizabeth Frantz | Reuters
“Current Secretary Kristi Noem, who has served us well and achieved numerous and extraordinary results (especially on the Border!), will step up to become the Special Envoy for the Inter-American Shield, our new Security Initiative in the Western Hemisphere, which we will announce on Saturday in Doral, Florida,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social on Thursday.
“I thank Kristi for her service in ‘Homeland,'” Trump said. he added.
“Good luck,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (DY) told reporters, referring to Noem.
“I don’t have any comment right now on what’s going to happen,” Jeffries said, referring to Mullin.
“Personnel turnover is not enough,” he added. “Kristi Noem was a disgrace.”
Mullin will need to be confirmed by the Senate as DHS secretary.
However, Trump said that Mullin will take office in this position on March 31.
Senator Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) (L) with Senator Roger Marshall (R-KS) (R) during a Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on February 25, 2026. Speaking at Casey Means’ nomination hearing.
Andrew Harnik | Getty Images
The president praised Mullin in his social media post, calling him “a MAGA Warrior and former undefeated professional MMA fighter;” “who really gets along with people and knows the Wisdom and Courage it takes to Advance our First America Agenda.”
“Markwayne will work tirelessly to Keep Our Border Secure, Stop Immigrant Crime, Murderers, and Other Criminals from Entering Our Country Illegally, End the Plague of Illegal Drugs, and MAKE AMERICA SAFE AGAIN,” Trump said. “Markwayne will be a terrific Secretary of Homeland Security.”
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