WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) — President Trump announced Thursday on social media that he is replacing his embattled Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem with Oklahoma Republican Sen. Markwayne Mullin.
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The announcement comes two days after Noem faced a grilling on Capitol Hill from GOP members as well as Democrats.
In a post on Truth Social Thursday, the president said, in part:
“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.”
FILE – Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem appears for an oversight hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, at the Capitol in Washington, March 3, 2026. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)
Trump went on to say that Noem “has served us well” and applauded her work at the U.S.-Mexico border, adding that she will be moving to a role as the “Special Envoy for The Shield of the Americas, our new Security Initiative in the Western Hemisphere we are announcing on Saturday in Doral, Florida.”
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On Thursday, Noem was in Nashville to give the keynote address at the Sergeant Benevolent Association Major Cities Conference. She did not mention Trump’s announcement.
Noem is the first Cabinet secretary to leave during Trump’s second term. Noem’s departure caps a tumultuous tenure overseeing immigration enforcement tactics that have been met with protests and lawsuits.
Noem has faced waves of criticism as she’s overseen Trump’s immigration crackdown, especially since the shooting deaths of two protesters in Minneapolis at the hands of immigration enforcement officers. The former South Dakota governor was also criticized over the way her department has spent billions of dollars allocated to it by Congress.
Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., speaks to reporters at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, March 5, 2026. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
In particular, the DHS secretary was questioned over the decision to run a $220 million ad campaign that heavily featured her.
Noem told lawmakers that Trump was aware of the campaign in advance, but Trump disputed that in an interview Thursday with Reuters, saying he did not sign off on the ad campaign.
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Her department, DHS, has also been shut down for 20 days, although many of the employees are continuing to work, often without pay.
Frustrations over Noem’s execution of the Republican president’s hard-line immigration agenda — particularly her leadership after the shooting deaths of the two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis — as well as her handling of disaster response, paved the way for her downfall. She faced blistering criticism from Democrats, and some Republicans, in Congress hearings this week over those issues and others.
Aside from immigration, Noem also faced criticism — including from Republicans — over the pace of emergency funding approved through the Federal Emergency Management Agency and for the Trump administration’s response to disasters.
Some Democrats responded quickly to the news, with Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) referring to Mullin as “a good dude,” The Hill reports.
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker addressed Noem in a recorded message, saying, “Hey Kristi Noem, don’t let the door hit you on the way out. Here’s your legacy: corruption and chaos; parents and children tear gassed; moms and nurses, U.S. citizens, getting shot in the face. Now that you’re gone, don’t think you get to just walk away. I guarantee you, you will still be held accountable.”
Mullin would need to be confirmed by the Senate, but under a federal law governing executive branch vacancies, he would be allowed to serve as an acting Homeland Security secretary as long as his nomination is formally pending.
Voting in the Senate just after Trump’s announcement, Mullin said he has “no idea” how quickly his nomination will move.
“The president and I are good friends. So we look forward to working closer with the White House, and obviously I’m gonna be over there a lot more,” he said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
