President Trump Replaces DHS Secretary Kristi Noem After Ongoing Backlash Over $220 Million Ad Campaign

Kristi Noem is officially out as Homeland Security Secretary after ongoing backlash for her handling of taxpayer funds.

“I am pleased to announce that the Highly Respected United States Senator from the Great State of Oklahoma, Markwayne Mullin, will become the United States Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS), effective March 31, 2026,” President Donald Trump shared via Truth Social on Thursday, March 5.

“The current Secretary, Kristi Noem, who has served us well, and has had numerous and spectacular results (especially on the Border!), will be moving to be Special Envoy for The Shield of the Americas, our new Security Initiative in the Western Hemisphere we are announcing on Saturday in Doral, Florida,” the Apprentice alum, 79, continued. “I thank Kristi for her service at ‘Homeland.’”

The move comes after Noem faced the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday, March 3, and the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday, March 4, about her $220 million ad campaign.

While Noem testified under oath that Trump approved the campaign, the president said in an interview with Reuters, “I never knew anything about it,” according to USA Today.

Republican Sen. John Kennedy from Louisiana grilled the secretary about her frivolous spending of taxpayers funds, even pointing out that one of the companies that secured the lucrative contract, Safe America Media, was formed just 11 days before being awarded a nearly $143 million contract.