New York, March 6 – US President Donald Trump has fired Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who had been embroiled in controversies over her handling of immigration raids and her personal life.
He announced on Thursday that Senator Markwayne Mullin would replace Noem, the first cabinet official to leave his administration during his second term.
This was a major setback for one of Trump's most loyal and outspoken supporters, whose aggressive approach to immigration policies was seen as starting to damage the administration's prospects in the midterm elections.
The sprawling Homeland Security Department handles a wide range of responsibilities, including immigration and emergency relief, as well as airport security and the Coast Guard.
Adding to her woes, Congress had cut off funding for the department in mid-February, with Democrats objecting to the way the immigration service operated, and negotiations to restore funding were failing, affecting its operations.
Noem had been a major obstacle to resolving the dispute, although Senate Democratic Party leader Chuck Schumer said the change in leadership would not make a difference.
Trump announced Noem's dismissal and Mullin's nomination on Truth Social.
Mullin, who is of Native American descent, has served five terms in the House and is in his third year in the Senate.
Expectations for Mullin are that he would bring stability to the Homeland Security Department, which has been plagued by internal turmoil and external controversies due to Noem's flamboyant leadership style.
"Markwayne truly understands and respects the people, and he possesses the wisdom and courage needed to advance our 'America First' agenda," Trump wrote.
Mullin will need the approval of the Senate to take office, and this could save the administration from a bruising fight, as he is a member of the Senate.
Trump praised Noem's success in curbing illegal migration and said she would be appointed to the newly created position of Special Envoy for "The Shield of the Americas," an initiative to bring together Latin American and Caribbean countries to deal with drug trafficking, illegal migration, and crime.
Trump, who had fired several cabinet and other senior officials in his first term, has been more cautious in his second term.
The only other high-ranking official fired is Mike Waltz, who was the national security advisor and was involved in an unsecured online chat group discussing security matters.
After being dismissed last year, Trump appointed him as the permanent representative to the United Nations.
Several legislators from the Republican Party had turned against Noem over the handling of immigration enforcement, which resulted in the deaths of two US citizens by immigration staff in Minnesota.
Her problems came to a head on Wednesday when she appeared before the House Judiciary Committee after another grilling on Tuesday by the Senate Judiciary Committee.
In the heated hearings, members of Congress, including those from her Republican Party, criticised her over the deaths of the two people she had labelled as "domestic terrorists."
She refused to apologise for their deaths or the way immigration raids were carried out.
Republican Senator Thom Tillis demanded that she resign.
Rumours of her relationship with her acting chief of staff, Corey Lewandowski, added to her problems.
At the House hearing, Democrat Representative Sydney Kamlager-Dove bluntly asked Noem if she had "sexual relations" with Lewandowski.
She did not directly answer the question and instead said that she was "peddling tabloid garbage" at the committee, which shocked her.
However, a more serious issue that drew her directly into contention with Trump was an ad campaign reportedly costing over $200 million and involving the husband of her former spokesperson.
Asked in the Senate hearing about it, she said that Trump had approved it.
But on Thursday, Trump denied in an interview with Reuters news agency that he had approved it.
Her dismissal came shortly after the interview was published.
Noem, 54, is the former governor of South Dakota, a state with a population of less than one million, which put her at a disadvantage in managing a vast federal department.
She tried to compensate by adopting a more hands-on approach, appearing in camouflage and accompanying immigration officers on raids in uniform, giving the impression of a strong leader while firmly defending Trump and his policies to curb illegal migration.
