President Donald Trump said Thursday on social media he was firing Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and would name Oklahoma Sen. Markwayne Mullin to replace her.
Trump thanked Noem for her service, saying in his Truth Social post she “has had numerous and spectacular results (especially on the Border!)” and that she “will be moving to be Special Envoy for The Shield of the Americas, our new Security Initiative in the Western Hemisphere.”
He said Mullin would take over the position March 31. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said that the Trump administration will work to confirm Mullin “as quickly as possible.”
Despite bipartisan calls for her to resign for weeks now, one kept trying to give Kristi Noem the benefit of the doubt because its only been a year and change since she got the DHS post, she'd already been sidelined by Trump after that disastrous Minnesota press conference and of course it'd be a win for Democrats (who've long despised her), but to be fair the now-former DHS Secretary brought this firing onto herself. Indeed, a steady stream of controversies that ultimately made her position untenable. The most damaging crisis erupting after immigration enforcement operations in Minnesota led to the fatal shootings of American citizens Renee Good and Alex Pretti, whom Noem quickly labeled “domestic terrorists,” only for cellphone and body camera footage to cast doubt on her department’s account. Her refusal to apologize during congressional hearings alienated members of both parties. At the same time, lawmakers questioned her approval of luxury Gulfstream G700 jets for the Department of Homeland Security, including one reportedly equipped with a bedroom, while a vain, $220 million horseback-themed ad campaign urging migrants to self-deport reportedly angered Trump after he denied ever approving it. Combined with smaller but damaging optics controversies (from the “Blanketgate” incident involving noted numbskull/aide Corey Lewandowski to her widely criticized memoir anecdote about shooting the family dog) Noem’s tenure became defined by a long list conainging poor judgment and political liabilities that ultimately led to her firing.
RELATED: What we know about Noem’s new ‘Shield of the Americas’ role
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