U.S. Is Better Off Without Kristi Noem as DHS Secretary
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Donald Trump announced today that Kristi Noem will no longer serve as Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary. The news comes after Noem faced a barrage of questions and criticisms from members of Congress about her management of the department and her role in ICE’s disastrous deployment in Minneapolis earlier this year, which resulted in the deaths of two American citizens.
Public Citizen co-president Lisa Gilbert issued the following statement in response:
“Kristi Noem’s entire tenure at DHS has been a disgrace.
“A top staffer was revealed to be personally connected to a multi-million dollar ad contract, and Noem lied about it under oath to Congress. Noem threw an embarrassing temper tantrum about her blankie being left on her luxury, taxpayer funded jet. And — most horrifically — the department oversaw the violent deployment of ICE in Minneapolis that resulted in two American citizens being killed by immigration officers.
“As is often the case with Trump, none of these damning, shameful, illegal actions were the cause of Kristi Noem’s firing. Instead, it was her embarrassing performance at this week’s Congressional hearings.
“The country is better off with Kristi Noem out of DHS, but the corrupt, racist, and anti-immigrant actions of her department are far from unique to her. Demonizing immigrants has been a central part of Trump’s political playbook for the last decade, and, unfortunately, that is unlikely to end with Noem’s firing.”