Trump Fires DHS Secretary Noem, Nominates Oklahoma Sen. Mullin

President Trump fired Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on Thursday and announced he wants Republican Sen. Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma to replace her in the first Cabinet shakeup of his second term.

Trump announced Noem's dismissal in a Truth Social post and said Mullin would take over by the end of March, pending Senate confirmation. "I am super excited about this opportunity," Mullin told reporters on Capitol Hill shortly after the announcement. "The president and I, as you guys know, we're great friends, and we get along great. I look forward to working with him in his cabinet. Of course, we still have to go through this little thing called confirmation."

For Treasure Coast residents, the leadership change at DHS carries immediate weight. The agency, which oversees FEMA, is now in its third week without funding, leaving hundreds of thousands of employees furloughed or working without pay. That funding gap directly affects the federal disaster preparedness and relief apparatus that Martin, St. Lucie, and Indian River counties depend on ahead of hurricane season.

Noem's departure follows a turbulent stretch that included bipartisan criticism during back-to-back congressional hearings this week. GOP Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana pressed Noem over a multimillion-dollar immigration ad campaign whose contract went to a firm created just days before it was awarded. Investigative outlet ProPublica reported that a beneficiary of the contract was connected to the husband of former DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin. NPR noted it had not independently confirmed that reporting. Questions also intensified after two U.S. citizens were killed by immigration officers in Minnesota in January. After the death of one victim, Alex Pretti, Noem called him "a domestic terrorist," drawing immediate bipartisan scrutiny.

A poll from NPR/PBS News and Marist taken last month found nearly two-thirds of Americans believe Immigration and Customs Enforcement has gone too far. Immigration enforcement remains a central issue for the administration as the midterm cycle begins. Mullin's confirmation hearing before the Senate has not yet been scheduled.

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