On March 5th 2026, the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was fired. Kristi Noem was fired on account of the 2026 initiatives taking place at the hands of the DHS and her responses to them. According to NPR, her actions while in office included spending millions on ads to encourage self deportation, becoming the face of the Trump administration’s moves for mass deportation, and deploying thousands of officers to detain and deport illegal immigrants. In the process of her actions, she was questioned at length by Congress for her budget spending, training of heavily armed officers, and the multitude of casualties of citizens and illegal immigrants alike at the hands of the DHS.

Noem is also known for her book, No Going Back, where she references shooting and killing animals from dogs to goats because they were “untrainable” and “worthless”. She faced backlash for her book which had been published in 2024 for these comments. Additionally, according to The Times, the former secretary had rumors circulating about an alleged affair with her advisor Corey Lewandowski. Both married, this accusation became popular in tabloids, and while there is no proof of the affair conspiring, the consistent accusations proved difficult for the pair to fend off.

Democrats are currently pushing for Noem to be tried by the Department of Justice for accusations of lying to Congress. According to an article by Fox News, a traditionally right leaning publication, a number of statements made by her directly to Congress were inaccurate and could be tried as lying to Congress under oath. The criminal charge could lead to 5 years in prison and a $250,000 fine if Noem is found guilty. In Noem’s current absence from the cabinet, President Trump has given her the new title of Special Envoy for the Shield of the Americas.

Republican Senator Markwayne Mullin is set to take Noem’s place. Mullin has represented the state of Oklahoma and aligns with the Trump administration’s ideology on immigration. In a hearing on Wednesday March 18, Mullin was questioned before a vote taking place the following day. Mullin has been criticized since this hearing on his attitude and anger expressed while being questioned on the concerns with the DHS currently. Mullin stated that he thought “there’s a better way to do this,” when failure to document people in detainment and their mysterious mistreatments and deaths, as well as failure to provide proper discipline to Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents were brought up. Mullin assured that he would be working with law enforcement as well as reforming things once taking office and being able to properly be briefed on all ongoing investigations on agents.