Senate Republicans berate Kristi Noem over DHS leadership
Who's accountable for the results?
Several Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee joined their Democratic colleagues in grilling Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem during a congressional hearing on Tuesday, calling into question — even, at times, condemning — her leadership of the department and deportations nationwide.
The rare criticism of a Trump Cabinet official from GOP lawmakers comes amid outrage from Democrats over Noem’s handling of several recent controversies, including the killing of U.S. citizens in Minnesota by immigration enforcement officers.
Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC), one of two GOP lawmakers who called earlier this year for Noem to resign, delivered a heated rebuke of the secretary during an oversight hearing of the Department of Homeland Security on Capitol Hill.
Tillis, who is not seeking reelection this year, raked Noem over the coals for how he said she had let federal immigration authorities go after people inside the United States, as well as how her agency had awarded Federal Emergency Management Agency funding, among other decisions.
“What we’ve seen is a disaster under your leadership, Mrs. Noem, a disaster. What we’ve seen is innocent people getting detained that turn out are American citizens,” Tillis said, adding that Immigration and Customs Enforcement ought to be seeking to arrest criminal illegal immigrants, not pursuing an evolving number of arrests per day.
Tillis criticized Noem for what he saw as her failure to respond adequately to the hurricane that ripped through western North Carolina in late 2024 in the 13 months that she had been atop the DHS. Noem has implemented a policy in which all DHS contracts over $100,000 must be approved by her team — a standard no other homeland security secretary has imposed.
“The Homeland Security Act of 2002 expressly prohibits the secretary of homeland security from restricting or diverting FEMA resources from the agency’s mission,” Tillis said. “Based on your disaster response, the chart that I just showed you, I have reason to believe that you’re violating the law, either knowingly or unknowingly.”
Tillis pushed Noem on why she had not retracted her mischaracterization of shootings in Minnesota in January, as well as why the DHS had not properly let local, state, and federal police investigate the incidents. He also lambasted Noem for shooting and killing a puppy and a goat, which she had touted in a memoir as evidence that she could make tough decisions.
“Those are bad decisions made in the heat …
Who's accountable for the results?
Several Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee joined their Democratic colleagues in grilling Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem during a congressional hearing on Tuesday, calling into question — even, at times, condemning — her leadership of the department and deportations nationwide.
The rare criticism of a Trump Cabinet official from GOP lawmakers comes amid outrage from Democrats over Noem’s handling of several recent controversies, including the killing of U.S. citizens in Minnesota by immigration enforcement officers.
Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC), one of two GOP lawmakers who called earlier this year for Noem to resign, delivered a heated rebuke of the secretary during an oversight hearing of the Department of Homeland Security on Capitol Hill.
Tillis, who is not seeking reelection this year, raked Noem over the coals for how he said she had let federal immigration authorities go after people inside the United States, as well as how her agency had awarded Federal Emergency Management Agency funding, among other decisions.
“What we’ve seen is a disaster under your leadership, Mrs. Noem, a disaster. What we’ve seen is innocent people getting detained that turn out are American citizens,” Tillis said, adding that Immigration and Customs Enforcement ought to be seeking to arrest criminal illegal immigrants, not pursuing an evolving number of arrests per day.
Tillis criticized Noem for what he saw as her failure to respond adequately to the hurricane that ripped through western North Carolina in late 2024 in the 13 months that she had been atop the DHS. Noem has implemented a policy in which all DHS contracts over $100,000 must be approved by her team — a standard no other homeland security secretary has imposed.
“The Homeland Security Act of 2002 expressly prohibits the secretary of homeland security from restricting or diverting FEMA resources from the agency’s mission,” Tillis said. “Based on your disaster response, the chart that I just showed you, I have reason to believe that you’re violating the law, either knowingly or unknowingly.”
Tillis pushed Noem on why she had not retracted her mischaracterization of shootings in Minnesota in January, as well as why the DHS had not properly let local, state, and federal police investigate the incidents. He also lambasted Noem for shooting and killing a puppy and a goat, which she had touted in a memoir as evidence that she could make tough decisions.
“Those are bad decisions made in the heat …
Senate Republicans berate Kristi Noem over DHS leadership
Who's accountable for the results?
Several Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee joined their Democratic colleagues in grilling Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem during a congressional hearing on Tuesday, calling into question — even, at times, condemning — her leadership of the department and deportations nationwide.
The rare criticism of a Trump Cabinet official from GOP lawmakers comes amid outrage from Democrats over Noem’s handling of several recent controversies, including the killing of U.S. citizens in Minnesota by immigration enforcement officers.
Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC), one of two GOP lawmakers who called earlier this year for Noem to resign, delivered a heated rebuke of the secretary during an oversight hearing of the Department of Homeland Security on Capitol Hill.
Tillis, who is not seeking reelection this year, raked Noem over the coals for how he said she had let federal immigration authorities go after people inside the United States, as well as how her agency had awarded Federal Emergency Management Agency funding, among other decisions.
“What we’ve seen is a disaster under your leadership, Mrs. Noem, a disaster. What we’ve seen is innocent people getting detained that turn out are American citizens,” Tillis said, adding that Immigration and Customs Enforcement ought to be seeking to arrest criminal illegal immigrants, not pursuing an evolving number of arrests per day.
Tillis criticized Noem for what he saw as her failure to respond adequately to the hurricane that ripped through western North Carolina in late 2024 in the 13 months that she had been atop the DHS. Noem has implemented a policy in which all DHS contracts over $100,000 must be approved by her team — a standard no other homeland security secretary has imposed.
“The Homeland Security Act of 2002 expressly prohibits the secretary of homeland security from restricting or diverting FEMA resources from the agency’s mission,” Tillis said. “Based on your disaster response, the chart that I just showed you, I have reason to believe that you’re violating the law, either knowingly or unknowingly.”
Tillis pushed Noem on why she had not retracted her mischaracterization of shootings in Minnesota in January, as well as why the DHS had not properly let local, state, and federal police investigate the incidents. He also lambasted Noem for shooting and killing a puppy and a goat, which she had touted in a memoir as evidence that she could make tough decisions.
“Those are bad decisions made in the heat …
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