Trump fired Secretary Noem amid controversy over immigration enforcement and fraud
Following tense oversight hearings before the House Judiciary Committee and the Senate Judiciary Committee, President Trump fired Secretary Noem on Mar. 5, citing frustrations with her $220 million, publicly-funded ad campaign. Noem was reassigned as the new Special Envoy for the Shield of the Americas, which is a new security initiative focused on curbing the influence of drug cartels and tightening security in the western hemisphere.
Senator Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) was tapped by Trump to replace Noem, and was confirmed by the Senate on Mar. 23 with a 54-45 vote.
On Mar. 3, Noem sat before the Senate Judiciary Committee, where she faced questioning on Department of Homeland Security (DHS) immigration enforcement, especially in Minnesota. Much of the questioning was in response to public outrage over the deaths of American citizens Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti, both of whom were fatally shot by Immigration Customs and Enforcement (ICE) agents.
Following the hearing, Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) accused Noem of repeatedly lying under oath in a Senate Judiciary Committee executive business meeting. “I have served on this Committee for more than 25 years… and I’ve never been through a hearing like our DHS oversight hearing with Secretary Noem [on] Tuesday,” Durbin said, “the Secretary took an oath to tell the truth. But instead, she repeatedly failed to do so.”
Later, on Mar. 5, Noem answered questions regarding allegations of fraud and corruption within DHS before the House Judiciary Committee. Representative Joe Neguse (D-CO) raised concerns surrounding the relatively high cost of her recent ad campaign. Neguse revealed that of the $220 million allocated to the ad campaign, $143 million was awarded to Safe America Media, a marketing firm that was formed eight days before winning the no-bid contract and registered to the address of a “political operative” in Virginia. “It is fraud, and ultimately I think there’s going to be accountability,” Neguse said as he ended his questioning.
Though Noem has not been indicted, she is currently being investigated by the Inspector General for potential corruption and fraud, and lawmakers who questioned Noem have referred her to the Department of Justice (DOJ), alleging perjury and false testimony. There are other pending investigations on Noem accepting luxury private air travel from a company and awarding DHS contracts to potential conflicts of interest.
Article by Zev Wacks