US President Donald Trump on Thursday fired Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and appointed Republican Senator Markwayne Mullin as her replacement. Noem has been reassigned as “Special Envoy for The Shield of the Americas,” a newly created post that is nowhere near the high-profile role she held for 14 months in the second Trump administration.
The former South Dakota governor was one of Trump’s most watched candidates in his second term and at one point was even considered a potential vice presidential candidate. During her tenure at DHS, Noem was never far from controversy, and this eventually led to her firing.
Here’s a look at the biggest controversies surrounding Noah
Putting down your own dog
In her 2024 memoir No Going Back, Noem described an incident in which she shot and killed her 14-month-old dog, Cricket, who she said was untrainable and dangerous.
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Noem described Cricket as being overexcited and killing the neighbor’s chickens, after which she decided to put it down. While Noem shared the story to show she was willing to make difficult decisions, it backfired and is believed to have cost her her job as US Vice President.
Meeting with Kim Jong Un
Not just the dog episode, Noem’s memoir made other headlines for all the wrong reasons after she falsely claimed to have met North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. According to Noem, she met Kim Jong Un during her time in Congress. She even claimed that the North Korean leader “underestimated” her.
However, after it was pointed out, Noah’s office admitted that the story was a “mistake”. Its spokesman said that Kim Jong-un’s name was mistakenly included in the list of world leaders.
$300 million for private luxury jets
Noem has also been criticized for spending more than $300 million in DHS funds on three private luxury jets. Critics have called the spending completely inappropriate, grossly immoral and likely illegal. According to Axios, the $300 million spent on private jets was allocated to DHS by Congress for border protection.
Minneapolis shooting
As head of DHS, Noem has always been under scrutiny and faced constant criticism for Border Patrol and ICE operations across the US against immigrants. Things came to a head earlier this year after the Jan. 7 fatal shooting of Renee Nicole Good by an ICE agent in Minneapolis and the Jan. 24 killing of Alex Pretti by two federal agents during a law enforcement operation.
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In both cases, Noem jumped to the defense of DHS and tried to paint the two victims as “domestic terrorists,” a claim later echoed by Trump and many others in his administration. However, bystander videos of the two incidents contradicted official claims and even led to some Republicans calling for Noah’s removal.
A $220 million ad campaign
The straw that broke the camel’s back came in the form of an advertising campaign on which DHS reportedly spent $220 million. Launched in February 2025, the ad campaign aimed to warn undocumented immigrants to “self-deport” or face “persecution”, but critics accused Noem of using it for self-promotion as she was featured prominently.
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It was also alleged that a large sum, $143 million, was paid to a company that was founded just a week earlier and had ties to some Republicans.
Controversy further erupted during her March 3 congressional hearing when she claimed that Trump had authorized $220 million in spending. However, the US president has publicly denied this, saying he “never knew anything about it”.
Key things
- High-profile political appointments come with increased scrutiny and responsibility.
- Controversial decisions can have long-term effects on a politician’s career.
- Public perception is crucial; missteps in communication can lead to significant backlash.
