WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump has grown frustrated with Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and has begun to consider possible replacements, lawmakers and people familiar with the discussions tell NBC News.
Trump has been speaking this week with Republican lawmakers about his displeasure with Noem and has made clear in those conversations that he is considering replacing her, according to two Republican lawmakers, a person familiar with White House’s thinking and three people familiar with the president’s private discussions.
They said no decision has been made by the president, but that he has told lawmakers that he is unhappy with Noem’s testimony this week before House and Senate committees.
Trump was particularly frustrated by Noem’s response when she was repeatedly asked about her role in approving contracts, specifically a $220 million ad campaign to encourage immigrants to self-deport, the sources said.
At one point during questioning, Noem told Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., that Trump knew about her decision to approve the ad campaign contracts — an answer that did not sit well with the president, the sources said. The ad contracts went out through a process that limited competitive bidding.
“I can assure you, he is not happy with her,” said one of the lawmakers who spoke with Trump this week, who, like others, were granted anonymity to discuss sensitive internal discussions. “She did horrible in the hearings and has made a lot of errors.”
Asked for comment on Trump’s frustrations with Noem, a Homeland Security Department spokesperson said, “Secretary Noem serves as the pleasure of the President. She is honored to serve the American people and lead DHS. Under her leadership, we have the most secure border in American history, 3 million illegal aliens left the United States, and we now have the lowest murder rate in 125 years.”
The White House did not respond to a request for comment about the president’s thinking on Noem.
The sources say that while Trump has at times been unhappy with Noem’s performance in leading the Homeland Security Department — most recently over her handling of shootings by immigration enforcement officers in Minneapolis — his frustrations have really escalated this week.
If he were to replace Noem, it would mark the first Cabinet secretary to exit in Trump’s second term. Noem also has been at the forefront one of immigration, one of the president’s top policy priorities.
White House officials have already discussed names of potential replacements for Noem, including Republican Sens. Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma and Steve Daines of Montana, according to two of the people familiar with the discussions.
The White House has contacted the Daines’s office, the two sources said. Daines recently announced he will not seek reelection to spend more time with his family. Still, sources stressed that Noem’s ouster is not definite and no successor has been chosen at this time.
Another possible complication is that funding for Homeland Security expired Feb. 13, forcing a partial shutdown of the department that affects the Transportation Security Administration, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Coast Guard and cybersecurity.
Democrats have been negotiating with the White House over changes to immigration enforcement to secure their votes to reopen the agency in full.
Leave a Reply