Donald Trump is preparing to fire Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and has canvassed Republican lawmakers on who should replace her, according to reports.
Trump set plans in motion after Noem faced a savage Republican-led inquisition before the Senate and House Judiciary committees on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Speaker Mike Johnson had raised the possible need for change at the top of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) during a recent retreat for senior Republicans in Fort Lauderdale.
The prospect is not straightforward, however, with Republicans privately fretting they may not have the 51 votes needed to confirm a replacement, and fear it would give the Democrats a boost amid a partial government shutdown over DHS funding.
The ‘last straw’ came when Noem told Senator John Kennedy under oath that she’d been given Trump’s approval for a $220 million taxpayer-funded campaign designed to boost her national profile.
‘I never knew anything about it,’Trump told Reuters in a phone interview.
The cinematic advert showed the former South Dakota governor on horseback at Mount Rushmore and galloping beside a stampede of bison in a cowboy hat. The contract was awarded to an LLC, which subcontracted with a firm run by the husband of DHS spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin, who has since resigned.
Noem squirmed under the Louisiana senator’s slow-burning drawl as he methodically dismantled her defense line by line.
‘The President approved ahead of time you spending $220 million running TV ads across the country in which you are featured prominently?’ Kennedy asked.
Donald Trump has privately canvassed Republican lawmakers on whether he should fire Kristi Noem, multiple sources have said
The Homeland Security Secretary faced criticism over taxpayer-funded campaign designed to boost her national profile, including an ad that showed her on horseback at Mount Rushmore
The cinematic ad showed Noem galloping beside a stampede of bison in a cowboy hat
Noem replied: ‘Yes sir, we went through the legal processes.’
Kennedy shot back: ‘Did the President know you were gonna do this?’
Noem claimed that Trump did, and Kennedy, his voice rising in mock astonishment, asked again: ‘He did?’
The Homeland chief replied: ‘Uh huh, yes.’
Kennedy told Noem that the adverts were ‘effective in your name recognition. To me, it puts the President in a terribly awkward spot.’
Republicans are divided over whether now is the right moment, amid fears the GOP’s slim six-seat majority would be stretched dangerously thin in any confirmation fight.
Any replacement nominee would face a brutal confirmation gauntlet, with moderate Republican senators already itching to register their unease over the President’s deadly immigration crackdown.
Others have warned Trump that pulling the trigger on Noem in the midst of a DHS funding shutdown, now in its 19th day, would hand Democrats a significant negotiating win.
The Homeland Security Secretary wore a gold watch and a $700 Veronica Beard double-breasted tweed blazer
Noem’s husband, Bryon, could be seen sitting behind his wife with a deadpan expression as she faced continued grilling over her relationship with Corey Lewandowski
A DHS spokeswoman said: ‘Secretary Noem serves at the pleasure of the President.’
She added that ‘the domestic ad campaign has been the most successful ad campaign in US history … The ad campaign saved the US taxpayers over $39 billion.’
Kennedy’s attack on Noem was not the only Republican grilling that garnered headlines.
Thom Tillis then unleashed a finger-jabbing tirade, branding her tenure a ‘disaster’ and demanding she quit on the spot.
The North Carolina Republican bore down on her for refusing to accept responsibility for the killing of protesters by federal agents in Minneapolis in January, which Trump sidelined her over.
The White House declined to comment.
‘What we’ve seen is a disaster! Under your leadership, Ms Noem – a disaster!’ Tillis shouted. ‘What we’ve seen is innocent people being detained.’
The next day, Democratic lawmakers at the House hearing were even less sparing in their attacks.
Lewandowski attends the election night watch party for Donald Trump at the Palm Beach County Convention Center on November 5, 2024
Kristi Noem arrives to testify before a House Judiciary Committee hearing on Oversight of the Department of Homeland Security, on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on Wednesday
Noem testifies before the House Judiciary Committee
The married mother-of-three was asked point-blank whether she was sleeping with her top aide Corey Lewandowski, who is himself married.
‘At any time during your tenure as director of Department of Homeland Security, have you had sexual relations with Corey Lewandowski?’, asked Democratic Representative Sydney Kamlager-Dove.
Noem was furious, calling her claims ‘offensive’ and dismissing them as ‘tabloid garbage.’
The Daily Mail exclusively revealed last year that Noem and Lewandowski are engaged in an affair. They deny a romantic relationship.
Trump is said to have been well aware of the pair during the campaign, and ‘would raise an eyebrow mischievously’ about their relationship, according to journalist Alex Isenstadt’s book Revenge.
‘Lewandowski knew how to bat out of his league,’ Trump remarked to aides.
