Trump Says Noem’s Job Is Safe

President Donald Trump on Thursday said he will not fire Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, even as questions continue to swirl about her future in the administration following a series of missteps leading the Department of Homeland Security.

Speaking at the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, Trump insisted that he’s satisfied with Noem’s efforts to secure the U.S. southern border with Mexico.

"They were saying about Kristi Noem yesterday … ‘sir, are you going to relieve Kristi Noem from her duties?’ No. Why would I do that?” Trump said. “We have the strongest border in the history of our country. We have the best crime numbers we've ever had, going back to the year 1900, that's 125 years."

The comments represent the most direct and public defense of Noem from the president since questions about her future within the administration arose. Concerns about Noem’s leadership of DHS grew after immigration officers shot and killed two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis last month.

A handful of Senate Republicans called on Trump to remove Noem over the shootings and other alleged errors in leading the agency, including her handling of disaster relief funding.

Noem and DHS have gone on defense, acknowledging errors in the messaging around the two shootings but insisting that Noem enjoys the confidence of the president. At a Wdnesday press conference in Arizona, Noem crowed that the administration “delivered the most secure border in American history” and pointed to a continued decline in the number of apprehensions Border Patrol registered in January.

DHS on Wednesday also recirculated poll numbers from the Republican-leaning firm Harper Polling that showed 81 percent of Trump supporters approve of Noem’s performance in office. That poll also said 87 percent of Trump supporters also back “Noem’s strategies and tactics.”

Trump had shared those same polling figures in January.

While Trump is still defending Noem, he has at times distanced himself from the aggressive tenor of the administration’s approach to immigration enforcement. Trump moved border czar Tom Homan into a role managing the surge of immigration enforcement activities in Minneapolis following the shooting of 37-year-old Alex Pretti in January.

On Wednesday, Homan announced a drawdown of over 700 agents in the state — representing roughly a quarter of the federal agents deployed there.

The president also said in an interview with NBC News on Wednesday night that the administration has learned after the shootings in Minneapolis that “maybe we can use a little bit of a softer touch, but you still have to be tough.”