‘When, not if’: Trump insiders say Noem was long on chopping block
This feels like a quiet policy shift.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s clash with GOP senators this week was the final straw for President Donald Trump, though insiders say her fate had been sealed long before Tuesday’s hearing.
Two days after that hearing, Trump announced via social media that Noem would be replaced at DHS by Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK), effective March 31. In the same statement, Trump announced that Noem, the former governor of South Dakota, would become the new special envoy for “The Shield of the Americas,” a new security initiative in the Western Hemisphere that’s expected to be formally announced on Saturday in Doral, Florida.
Noem “has served us well, and has had numerous and spectacular results (especially on the Border!),” Trump wrote.
People close to the president and current and former Trump administration officials say that, despite the White House’s public support prior to this week, Noem’s job had been dangling by a thread for months.
A longtime adviser to the president told the Washington Examiner that Trump had considered replacing Noem during government shutdown negotiations in late January, but the removal would not have benefited the administration’s position and could have even weakened it.
“It was always when, not if,” that person reiterated Thursday.
One former Trump administration official said that Noem sealed her fate by appearing to throw the president under the bus during her appearance before the Senate Judiciary Committee earlier this week amid a brewing scandal at DHS. During the hearing, Noem was pressed by Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) about a $220 million ad campaign DHS had undertaken with a firm with ties to Noem and her former spokeswoman.
“How do you square [cuts to DHS contracts] with the fact that you have spent $220 million running television advertisements that feature you prominently?” Kennedy asked Noem.
“Sir, the president tasked me with getting the message out to the country and to other countries with putting commercials out that if they were in the country illegally, that they needed to leave,” Noem replied.
Trump was reportedly rankled by Noem’s comments. Publicly, the president disputed the secretary’s claim in an interview with Reuters on Thursday.
“I never knew anything about it,” he told the news wire service.
Privately, Trump called Kennedy “as mad as a murder hornet” to discuss the situation. They also discussed the prospect of Mullin replacing Noem.
“Her version of the truth and the President’s version …
This feels like a quiet policy shift.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s clash with GOP senators this week was the final straw for President Donald Trump, though insiders say her fate had been sealed long before Tuesday’s hearing.
Two days after that hearing, Trump announced via social media that Noem would be replaced at DHS by Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK), effective March 31. In the same statement, Trump announced that Noem, the former governor of South Dakota, would become the new special envoy for “The Shield of the Americas,” a new security initiative in the Western Hemisphere that’s expected to be formally announced on Saturday in Doral, Florida.
Noem “has served us well, and has had numerous and spectacular results (especially on the Border!),” Trump wrote.
People close to the president and current and former Trump administration officials say that, despite the White House’s public support prior to this week, Noem’s job had been dangling by a thread for months.
A longtime adviser to the president told the Washington Examiner that Trump had considered replacing Noem during government shutdown negotiations in late January, but the removal would not have benefited the administration’s position and could have even weakened it.
“It was always when, not if,” that person reiterated Thursday.
One former Trump administration official said that Noem sealed her fate by appearing to throw the president under the bus during her appearance before the Senate Judiciary Committee earlier this week amid a brewing scandal at DHS. During the hearing, Noem was pressed by Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) about a $220 million ad campaign DHS had undertaken with a firm with ties to Noem and her former spokeswoman.
“How do you square [cuts to DHS contracts] with the fact that you have spent $220 million running television advertisements that feature you prominently?” Kennedy asked Noem.
“Sir, the president tasked me with getting the message out to the country and to other countries with putting commercials out that if they were in the country illegally, that they needed to leave,” Noem replied.
Trump was reportedly rankled by Noem’s comments. Publicly, the president disputed the secretary’s claim in an interview with Reuters on Thursday.
“I never knew anything about it,” he told the news wire service.
Privately, Trump called Kennedy “as mad as a murder hornet” to discuss the situation. They also discussed the prospect of Mullin replacing Noem.
“Her version of the truth and the President’s version …
‘When, not if’: Trump insiders say Noem was long on chopping block
This feels like a quiet policy shift.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s clash with GOP senators this week was the final straw for President Donald Trump, though insiders say her fate had been sealed long before Tuesday’s hearing.
Two days after that hearing, Trump announced via social media that Noem would be replaced at DHS by Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK), effective March 31. In the same statement, Trump announced that Noem, the former governor of South Dakota, would become the new special envoy for “The Shield of the Americas,” a new security initiative in the Western Hemisphere that’s expected to be formally announced on Saturday in Doral, Florida.
Noem “has served us well, and has had numerous and spectacular results (especially on the Border!),” Trump wrote.
People close to the president and current and former Trump administration officials say that, despite the White House’s public support prior to this week, Noem’s job had been dangling by a thread for months.
A longtime adviser to the president told the Washington Examiner that Trump had considered replacing Noem during government shutdown negotiations in late January, but the removal would not have benefited the administration’s position and could have even weakened it.
“It was always when, not if,” that person reiterated Thursday.
One former Trump administration official said that Noem sealed her fate by appearing to throw the president under the bus during her appearance before the Senate Judiciary Committee earlier this week amid a brewing scandal at DHS. During the hearing, Noem was pressed by Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) about a $220 million ad campaign DHS had undertaken with a firm with ties to Noem and her former spokeswoman.
“How do you square [cuts to DHS contracts] with the fact that you have spent $220 million running television advertisements that feature you prominently?” Kennedy asked Noem.
“Sir, the president tasked me with getting the message out to the country and to other countries with putting commercials out that if they were in the country illegally, that they needed to leave,” Noem replied.
Trump was reportedly rankled by Noem’s comments. Publicly, the president disputed the secretary’s claim in an interview with Reuters on Thursday.
“I never knew anything about it,” he told the news wire service.
Privately, Trump called Kennedy “as mad as a murder hornet” to discuss the situation. They also discussed the prospect of Mullin replacing Noem.
“Her version of the truth and the President’s version …
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