President Donald Trump announced on Thursday that he was removing Kristi Noem as DHS head and replacing her with Senator Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma. 

“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. 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.’
 
“Serving 10 years in the United States House of Representatives, and 3 in the Senate, Markwayne has done a tremendous job representing the wonderful People of Oklahoma, where I won all 77 out of 77 Counties — in 2016, 2020, and 2024! 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. As the only Native American in the Senate, Markwayne is a fantastic advocate for our incredible Tribal Communities. Markwayne will work tirelessly to Keep our Border Secure, Stop Migrant Crime, Murderers, and other Criminals from illegally entering our Country, End the Scourge of Illegal Drugs and, MAKE AMERICA SAFE AGAIN. Markwayne will make a spectacular Secretary of Homeland Security. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”

The move from Trump comes after there were reports that the president was mulling over the option of firing Noem. Trump this week was speaking about his frustrations with Noem to other officials. 

After her testimony to Congress, in which she said that Trump had approved a $220 million ad campaign for DHS that featured Noem, Trump said that he “never knew anything about it.”

The New York Post reported that Trump was furious with Noem over the testimony in Congress. After the firing, Noem said in a post on X, “Thank you @POTUS Trump for appointing me as the Special Envoy for the Shield of the Americas. @SecRubio and @SecWar are incredible leaders and I look forward to working with them closely to dismantle cartels that have poured drugs into our nation and killed our children and grandchildren. The Western Hemisphere is absolutely critical for U.S. security. In this new role, I will be able to build on the partnerships and national security expertise, I forged over the last 13 months as Secretary of Homeland Security.”

During her congressional appearance, Noem was questioned over her job as DHS Secretary and was also questioned about an alleged affair with an aide to the president, Corey Lewandowski.   

At the time, Noem answered, “I am shocked that we’re going down and peddling tabloid garbage in this committee today. I would tell you is that he is a special government employee who works for the White House. There are thousands of them in the federal government.”