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Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem is officially out as the agency’s leader and will be replaced by Republican Senator Markwayne Mullin (Okla.), according to President Donald Trump.
The president made the surprising announcement on Thursday afternoon, just minutes after rumors surfaced on social media that Noem, the former Republican governor of South Dakota, would be ousted.
“I am pleased to announce that the Highly Respected United States Senator from the Great State of Oklahoma, Markwayne Mullin, will become the United States Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS), effective March 31, 2026,” President Trump said in a statement on Truth Social.
He continued, “The current Secretary, Kristi Noem, who has served us well, and has had numerous and spectacular results (especially on the Border!), will be moving to be Special Envoy for The Shield of the Americas, our new Security Initiative in the Western Hemisphere we are announcing on Saturday in Doral, Florida. I thank Kristi for her service at ‘Homeland.’”
Sen. Mullin has been a staunch ally to President Trump in the Senate.
The president praised Mullin for doing a “tremendous job representing the People of Oklahoma.”
“A MAGA Warrior, and former undefeated professional MMA fighter, Markwayne truly gets along well with people, and knows the Wisdom and Courage required to Advance our America First Agenda,” President Trump added.
Noem’s surprising ouster also came after her testimony before the Senate this week, in which she found herself in some hot water over a $200 million+ DHS ad campaign launched last year, prominently featuring Noem.
“The president approved ahead of time you spending $220 million running TV ads across the country in which you are featured prominently?” asked Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., during the hearing, per The Hill.
Fox News reporter Bill Melugin noted that Noem was “now treading in some dangerous waters” with her testimony in the Senate about the contentious issue, which has drawn speculation over its huge budget. She told the Senate that she was tasked by the president to put commercials on the air that trumpeted the message of DHS on immigration and deportation. “That has been extremely effective,” she said of the ads.
The president, by contrast, told Reuters that he did not approve of the ad campaign. “I never knew anything about it,” he stated.
