On March 5th, 2026, the Trump Administration announced that the Secretary of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem, would be terminated from her position. Kristi Noem served as Secretary of Homeland Security starting on January 25th, 2025 when Donald Trump appointed her at the start of his second term. In her time serving as Secretary of Homeland security she focused on border security and immigration enforcement. 

Kristi Noem served as U.S House representative from January 2011 to January 2019 when she became Governor of South Dakota from January 2019 to January 2026. Noem then went on to Secretary of Homeland Security until March 31st 2026.

The reasoning for her termination was in relation to a large ad campaign that used $220 million dollars in tax-payer funds. She is accused of having her friends profit off of this campaign leading to her eventual termination. However this was not the only scandal Noem has found herself in while serving the American people.

Many criticized her handling of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE. Under Noem’s leadership, ICE terrorized the streets of Minnesota killing numerous American citizens and illegally detaining many more. Over the months many called for her dismissal due to her mishandling of ICE, especially in regards to overstepping agents and the handling of the aftermath of these killings, wrongfully declaring the deceased Alex Pretti as a domestic terrorist and justifying the murder of Renee Good.

Kristi Noem also found herself under fire for her alleged affair with her top advisor, Corey Lewandowski. Recently at a House hearing, Noem, while under oath, was questioned about her sexual relations with Lewandowski. Noem refused to answer with a “yes” or a “no” and continued to dance around the question as she has in the past. 

On top of these large scandals, Kristi Noem received heavy backlash for a section in her book where she mentions how she shot and killed a puppy, relating that dark memory to a lesson about leadership. 

After the announcement of her termination, Donald Trump announced on social media that he would be replacing Kritsi Noem with Oklahoma Senator Markwayne Mullin. Mullin has served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2013-2022, then the Senate from January 2023 to currently, and is ready to take over for Noem in April 2026. 

Many Americans hold hopes that Markwayne Mullin will bring about a new era for the Department of Homeland security, however with what little we know about him it seems unlikely. Mullin has shown to be heavily devoted to Donald Trump and has a infamous reputation as a hothead. Mullin recently at the State of the Union in February attempted to rip a sign from Al Green’s hands while screaming in his face. The sign read “Black People Aren’t Apes,” a response to an offensive video shared by Donald Trump. Markwayne Mullin has also called for the deportation of American citizen children if their parents are here illegally. This calls into question how he will handle ICE in the near future. Many people speculate that ICE activities are likely to worsen under Mullins leadership. Other concerns about Markwayne Mullin surround his lack of qualifications for this position. He has not served in any kind of law enforcement, nor has he held any prominent party leadership role, and he has never worked in government before he ran for Congress. 

However, despite the reservations of the American people, Donald Trump is ready for Markwayne Mullin to take over as Secretary of Homeland Security.