White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt is now bringing us more of the administration’s thoughts on the shakeup today.

“President Trump is grateful to @KristiNoem for helping usher in the most secure border in American history, and he looks forward to her continuing to serve in her new important role,” Leavitt wrote on X.

She goes on to say that Senator Mullin is “extraordinarily qualified” and that the White House will work to get him confirmed in the Senate “as quickly as possible”.

“President Trump’s immigration agenda is keeping our borders secure and deporting illegal alien criminals from our country, and it will continue without interruption,” she said.

Lawmakers with knowledge of the Trump administration have told US media that the president was increasingly unhappy with Kristi Noem’s performance as Homeland Security Secretary.

Here’s what has been reported:

• Two administration officials told the BBC’s partner CBS News that the president was unhappy with her handling of the Minnesota immigration crackdown – including the deaths of two US citizens (Renee Good and Alex Pretti) who were killed by federal immigration agents
• The president was reportedly also angry with Kristi Noem’s congressional testimony earlier this week, lawmakers familiar with the situation told NBC News
• Senator John Kennedy told reporters that Trump was “pissed” about Noem’s responses to questions on her role in approving a $220 million ad campaign encouraging immigrants to self-deport. A White House official told NBC that Trump did not sign off on the campaign
• Lawmakers on both sides of the political aisle have condemned Noem’s performance and called for her resignation over the last few months
• A GOP senator told NBC News that Trump has been making calls to asking lawmakers for their input on Noem since last year

Daniel Bush
Washington correspondent

President Donald Trump’s decision to replace DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, the face of his immigration agenda, represents a major shift on one of his core domestic issues.

Noem was the point person for the administration’s crackdown on undocumented immigrants. She frequently appeared alongside agents in the field conducting enforcement activities, and served as a high-profile voice touting policies that effectively closed the US-Mexico border.

The former South Dakota governor also carried the message abroad, making headlines with a visit to a maximum-security prison in El Salvador that took in some immigrants deported from the US by the administration.

But Noem also courted controversy during her tenure at DHS, and in recent weeks had reportedly begun to lose support inside the administration and with Republicans on Capitol Hill.

Noem’s exit may signal the White House understands the public is souring on DHS’ immigration enforcement tactics. Polls show a majority of Americans agree with aspects of Trump’s broader immigration agenda.

Speaking more to reporters on the steps of the Capitol, Senator Mullin says he will work to convince Congress that he is the right choice to lead the DHS.

“We’re going to try to earn everybody’s vote,” he said

He added that he will put party aside to do his duties as Homeland Security secretary.

“Yes, I’m a Republican, yes I’m conservative,” he said, adding that he will work to enforce the policies passed by Congress even for people who don’t agree with him. “Once I make that transition, my focus is to keep the homeland secure, that’s going to be my focus, and we’re super excited about this opportunity.”

We’re hearing reaction now from some Republicans.

“A change in leadership at the Department of Homeland Security was long overdue,” Washington state Representative Dan Newhouse says.

South Carolina’s Lindsey Graham says “it was time for a change”. On Mullin, Graham says: “President Trump could not have chosen a better candidate to be Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security.”

Representative Max Miller of Ohio says: “Homeland Security needs a hard worker like Markwayne. I can think of no better person for this job.”

Others also thanked Noem for her service.

“I thank Secretary Noem for her service to our nation and all the work she did to execute President Trump’s agenda to make our southern border and interior safer and more secure than ever before,” Alabama Senator Katie Britt says.

Bernd Debusmann Jr
Reporting from the White House

Today marks the first departure of a high-level figure from within Trump’s cabinet so far this administration, with the exception of National Security Advisor Mike Waltz – whose job was added to Marco Rubio’s already full plate.

Since Trump returned to the White House in January last year, political commentators across the country have remarked that the lack of reshuffling marks a stark departure from his chaotic first term.

Trump’s famous TV catchphrase was “you’re fired” – and it’s one he frequently put to use between 2017 and 2020.

In the first year alone, the administration saw the departure of Acting Attorney General Sally Yates, National Security Advisor Mike Flynn, FBI Director James Comey, Chief of Staff Reince Priebus, chief strategist Steve Bannon and Health Secretary Tom Price, among others.

Two press secretaries – Sean Spicer and Anthony Scaramucci – also lost their jobs in that first year, with the latter taking place after just ten days.

The sackings continued through the administration, right up until December 2020 – just over a month before he left office.

Kristi Noem has made her first public comments after Trump announced her replacement as homeland security secretary.

“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,” she writes on X.

She adds: “We have made historic accomplishments at the Department of Homeland Security to make America safe again.”

A short while ago, Noem wrapped up her speech at an event in Nashville, Tennessee.

She took questions from the audience, but she was not asked about Trump’s social media post announcing her replacement, Markwayne Mullin, as homeland security secretary.

Throughout her speech, she highlighted her work at the department and the audience, composed of police from around the country, asked questions related to sanctuary cities and about the best ways to work with federal partners.

In the last few moments, Markwayne Mullin has been speaking to reporters outside the Capitol, where he says he found out he was the new homeland security secretary “a little bit before you guys did”.

He adds that he’s already spoken with the president and plans to have further discussions with him.

“We’re going to get on the same page”, he adds.

We’re getting some reaction now from Democratic lawmakers, who welcome Noem’s departure, but are reiterating their calls for reform at the Department of Homeland Security.

“Good riddance,” writes Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer on social media.

“But the problems at DHS go much deeper than any one person,” Schumer adds. “The President must rein in ICE and end the violence.”

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries says: “Pam Bondi is next. Keep the pressure on these extremists.”

Colorado Senator John Hickenlooper says: “Make no mistake: ICE and Trump’s inhumane immigration agenda needs a complete overhaul”.

Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman says he will support Mullin’s nomination.

“I’m not sure how many fellow Democrats will vote to support our colleague, Senator Mullins, as the next DHS Secretary, but I am AYE,” Fetterman says.

In recent weeks, Fetterman has broken with his party and voted with Republicans on several key issues.

Kristi Noem, 54, has led the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) since Trump took office for his second term in 2025.

Noem has been at the helm of some of Trump’s major campaign promises, including securing the US-Mexico border and mass deporting undocumented immigrants.

She’s presided over the department during sweeping immigration crackdown across the country, and has been the face of it during some of its most controversial moments – the fatal shooting of US citizens Alex Pretti and Renee Good in Minnesota by federal agents earlier this year.

Before her role as homeland secretary, Noem was the governor of South Dakota from 2019 to 2025.

Noem is speaking now at conference in Nashville, Tennessee.

It’s unclear if she knew about Trump’s Truth Social post announcing her replacement before she took to the stage.

She’s so far used the event to speak about her record on the border, the number of drug arrests she says the administration has made, and its efforts the lower murder rate

We’ll bring you any key lines here.

US President Donald Trump says that Republican Senator Markwayne Mullin will replace Kristi Noem as Homeland Security Secretary from the end of March.

Mullin, a former professional Mixed Martial Arts fighter, has served as a US Senator for Oklahoma since 2023, following 10 years as a House Representative for the state.

His senate biography page describes him as a “business owner, working cow-calf rancher, and proud husband of 28 years” who has six children with his wife.

Bernd Debusmann Jr
Reporting from the White House

For those observing the ins and outs of Washington politics, today’s announcement is no surprise – although it happened faster than some anticipated.

Just last night, I was talking to a source close to the Trump team that told me he believed Noem’s replacement was “likely”, although he added that Trump would probably wait a while to avoid seeming like he was responding to media pressure.

The US president had reportedly already been calling Republican lawmakers to feel out their responses, and a possible replacement.

Noem has been under intense scrutiny for months, particularly over her handling of the vast department and the aftermath of the deaths of two US citizens at the hands of federal agents in Minnesota earlier this year.

The final straw, however, appears to have been this week’s fiery hearings on Capitol Hill, in which she claimed that Trump had approved of a multi-million ad campaign in which she featured.

In an interview with Reuters earlier today, Trump said that wasn’t true.

“I never knew anything about it,” he said.

We can bring you more now from Trump’s statement on Truth Social.

The US president thanks Noem “for her service”, before going on to praise Senator Markwayne Mullin for doing a “tremendous job representing the wonderful People of Oklahoma”.

He describes Mullin as a “MAGA warrior” and praises him as a “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,” he says, adding that Mullin “will work tirelessly” to keep the US borders secure.

US President Donald Trump has announced he is replacing Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.

Noem, who has led Trump’s immigration drive, will be replaced with Republican Senator Markwayne Mullin, Trump says.

“The current Secretary, Kristi Noem, who has served us well, and has had numerous and spectacular results,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.

He added that Noem will now shift to a newly established position, the Special Envoy for The Shield of the Americas, which Trump said was a “new Security Initiative in the Western Hemisphere”