Noem Out

From the AP:

“Trump says he's replacing Homeland Security Secretary Noem with GOP Sen. Markwayne Mullin”

President Donald Trump said he’s replacing his embattled Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and will nominate in her place Oklahoma Republican Sen. Markwayne Mullin. Trump made the announcement on social media on Thursday, two days after Noem faced a grilling on Capitol Hill from GOP members as well as Democrats. Trump says he’ll make Noem a "Special Envoy for The Shield of the Americas,” a new security initiative that he said would focus on the Western Hemisphere.

Noem is the first Cabinet secretary to leave during Trump’s second term. Noem’s departure caps a tumultuous tenure overseeing immigration enforcement tactics that have been met with protests and lawsuits. Noem has faced waves of criticism as she’s overseen Trump’s immigration crackdown, especially since the shooting deaths of two protesters in Minneapolis at the hands of immigration enforcement officers. The former South Dakota governor was also criticized over the way her department has spent billions of dollars allocated to it by Congress.

Frustrations over Noem’s execution of the Republican president’s hard-line immigration agenda — particularly her leadership after the shooting deaths of the two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis — as well as her handling of disaster response, paved the way for her downfall. She faced blistering criticism from Democrats, and some Republicans, in Congress hearings this week over those issues and others.

Aside from immigration, Noem also faced criticism — including from Republicans — over the pace of emergency funding approved through the Federal Emergency Management Agency and for the Trump administration’s response to disasters. Mullin would need to be confirmed by the Senate, but under a federal law governing executive branch vacancies, he would be allowed to serve as an acting Homeland Security secretary as long as his nomination is formally pending.

President Trump privately considered firing Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem after contentious congressional hearings. President Donald Trump privately asked Republican lawmakers on Capitol Hill whether he should fire Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem after bruising congressional hearings, multiple GOP figures who spoke with the president told Punchbowl News on Thursday. The conversations reportedly came after Noem testified before Senate and House Judiciary panels this week, where she faced hostile questioning over the administration’s immigration crackdown and a controversial government-funded advertising campaign.

Trump was allegedly angered in particular by Noem’s exchange with Senator John Kennedy (R-LA), who pressed her on whether the president had personally approved a $220 million advertising effort that prominently featured the DHS secretary. Kennedy repeatedly questioned whether Trump had personally approved the campaign. Kennedy then warned the campaign risked putting Trump “in a terribly awkward spot.” He also grilled Noem on why the advertising contract went to a firm run by the husband of her former DHS spokesperson, Tricia McLaughlin. Noem also faced sharp criticism from Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC), who has called on her to resign and threatened to slow Senate business until his questions are addressed. House Democrats repeatedly asked Noem about her relationship with senior adviser Corey Lewandowski, Trump’s former campaign manager. She declined to respond, dismissing the questions as “tabloid garbage.” Republicans told Punchbowl News they are divided on whether removing Noem now would be a good thing, considering the ongoing DHS shutdown — while citing caution over a potentially difficult Senate confirmation fight likely for any successor.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/trump-floats-firing-kristi-noem-123756114.html