Kristi Noem fired after disastrous Dept of Homeland Security secretary tenure

We can now openly acknowledge what has been going on before our eyes for a year now: that Kristi Noem was a complete, complete, utter disaster, whose tenure in charge of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was little more than a self-promoting crusade.

He was unqualified for the job from day one, and was largely responsible for ICE’s egregious excesses and FEMA’s frustrating failures.

President Donald Trump’s decision to fire her, which took so long, freed many Republicans to acknowledge what many in the media, Democrats and outside critics, myself included, had been saying all along: Noem was a slow-motion train wreck.

The former South Dakota governor had no experience in national security matters, and that became painfully clear.

This woman is so determined to project the image of a tough cowgirl that when she wrote a memoir, she bragged about shooting her dog because she hated pets. Talk about a self-inflicted wound.

This is a woman who trashes two American citizens tragically killed by ICE, calling them domestic terrorists and, in one case, agitators. And I refused to take it back.

The correct answer was simple: This is terrible, we feel terrible for the family, we are investigating and will report back when we have more information. How difficult is this?

There was no investigation into the case of Renee Good, who was shot and killed after dropping her child off at school. Noem simply declared that the ICE agent acted correctly and that was it.

Noem also bears responsibility for ICE’s overly aggressive approach in Minneapolis; This leads to innocent Americans being dragged from their cars and homes. Agents have a tough job to do, but many were hired after ICE cut training for new members. He and the agency lied about this too.

Repeated mistakes have turned the public against ICE; So much so that Trump had to appoint border czar Tom Homan to salvage the situation.

DHS SECRETARY KRISTI NOEM responds to calls to fire, NEW ALEX PRETTI VIDEO

Noem also made the mess at FEMA worse. By insisting that he approve every contract or grant over $100,000, he created a huge backlog in disaster areas where people going through the process waited months and never got their money. Some Republicans complained about this after receiving backlash from their voters.

Meanwhile, DHS spent millions on ads promoting the boss, not to mention the private plane that flew him around.

He posed in the infamous El Salvador prison; The shirtless inmates behind him were reduced to props, wearing a $50,000 gold Rolex watch.

Images of Alex Pretti and Renee Good were displayed at a forum held by Democratic lawmakers on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on the use of force by Department of Homeland Security agents on February 3. (Stefani Reynolds/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

To further push the gun-carrying image, he posed horseback riding at Mount Rushmore. Other agents nicknamed her “ICE Barbie”.

Noem was terrible at the hearings, defensive and unprepared as lawmakers pressured her. She even faced criticism about her relationship with private government employee Corey Lewandowski, who was Trump’s first campaign manager, but both denied the rumors.

But it wasn’t until he openly lied about the president that the thin ice broke.

HOUSE DEMOCRATS ARE HOLDING ‘SHADOW HEARINGS’ AS THEY BUILD A LAWSUIT TO COMPENSATE KRISTI NOEM

Under aggressive questioning from Republican Senator John Kennedy, he claimed that Trump had approved a $220 million advertising contract with him as the featured star. Even someone with a rusty political antenna will realize that Trump is the star of the show.

Only four companies were deemed eligible to bid for this tender. And the award was given to a company that didn’t exist eight days ago. There was no website. He had no known office. He had never worked for the government.

This company was created for the sole purpose of earning this lucrative federal money.

The firm had a strong political connection to Noem. As Pro Publica explains, Delaware’s Strategy Group played a key role in Noem’s 2022 gubernatorial campaign.

When Kennedy reported that Trump had called her and called BS on her behalf, anyone with 10 minutes of experience in Washington could tell Noem was blushing.

Anti-ICE protesters, who whistled to warn neighborhoods of ICE activity, confronted Minneapolis police officers in Minneapolis on January 24. (Roberto Schmidt/AFP via Getty Images)

The president was so furious that he assigned him to a previously non-existent role: special envoy for a new Western Hemisphere security initiative. Not exactly a golden parachute.

Addressing the radioactive contract, Trump told NBC News: “I wasn’t too excited about it. I spent less money than that to be president. I didn’t know that.”

The president’s replacement, Oklahoma Sen. Markwayne Mullin, is widely respected as the more experienced choice for his aggressive views on deportation. He was courteous to reporters, saying he and Noem were friends and that she was doing the best she could under difficult circumstances.

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It’s not uncommon to have a few scraps in a Cabinet. For Trump, who fired top officials left and right in his first term, it was his first cabinet dismissal during his current term and comes as he wages war against Iran.

The president has been extraordinarily patient with Noem, but has inflicted serious damage on Noem, the administration, and the country over the immigration issue that Noem signed onto.

Almost no one defends him except his close family and friends. The need to show off is over.

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