Noem Out, Trump Picks Mullin As Dhs Secretary

President Donald Trump on Thursday said he would name Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) to be the next Homeland Security secretary, moving current DHS chief Kristi Noem to a special envoy role around Western Hemisphere cooperation in the face of growing frustrations with her tenure.

In a Truth Social post, Trump said Noem “has served us well, and has had numerous and spectacular results (especially on the Border!).” Trump added Noem will become a special envoy for the “our new Security Initiative in the Western Hemisphere we are announcing on Saturday” at a summit with Latin American leaders on Saturday in Florida.

“I thank Kristi for her service at “Homeland,” he continued.

Senior administration officials in the last few days had privately urged Trump to replace Noem, according to three Republicans with direct knowledge of the effort and a person close to the White House granted anonymity to disclose the private push.

The secretary faced intense scrutiny and calls from some GOP lawmakers to resign over her management of the sprawling department — including her response to federal agents killing two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis in January.

But the frustration inside the administration — brewing for months — stretched well beyond that, including concerns over how she used some DHS funding and her relationship with her special adviser Corey Lewandowski, who has played an outsized role at the agency.

This article is based on conversations with 10 people, including administration officials, former Trump officials, people close to the White House and Hill Republicans, who were granted anonymity to discuss private conversations.

Those discussions involved people at the highest levels of the Trump administration, including chief of staff Susie Wiles, according to four of the people. Border czar Tom Homan, who has often clashed with the DHS secretary, has been a key driver lobbying the president to remove her, said one of the people, who is close to the White House.

Frustration grew more serious in recent days. Noem’s testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee Tuesday sparked angst within the White House including with Trump, according to two people with knowledge of the president’s private conversations.

During the hearing, Noem was asked about spending hundreds of millions of dollars on ads in which she featured prominently. She told senators the president approved of the controversial blitz. The ads, according to two of the people, are a sore spot within the White House, including with Trump, because they feed into a perception that Noem is using her position to set herself up for a future political run.

“POTUS did not sign off on a $220 million dollar ad campaign,” said a White House official. “Absolutely not.”

Trump in conversations this week had gone so far as to quiz people he is talking with on potential replacements for Noem, according to two of the people, who both said Trump would fire the secretary. He floated Mullin, a close ally.