Trump Replacing Noem With Oklahoma Senator to Head Homeland Security
by Jack Phillips and Jackson Richmond, The Epoch Times.com, March 5, 2026
President Donald Trump on March 5 announced that he is replacing Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem with Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) in a move that will go into effect by the end of the month.
“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,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.
The transition will take place on March 31, he said.
Trump said Noem served well and had “numerous and spectacular results,” namely with respect to the U.S.–Mexico border’s security. Noem, a former governor of South Dakota, will be leaving for the newly created post of special envoy for the shield of the Americas, he wrote.
What Is ‘Shield of the Americas’? What We Know About Kristi Noem’s New Role?
The special envoy position will be announced in an event on March 7 in Doral, Florida, the president said.
Noem wrote in a post on X that she is thanking Trump for naming her as special envoy for the shield of the Americas.
Under her tenure, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) had “historic accomplishments,” including deporting 3 million illegal immigrants since Trump was sworn in last year, locating 145,000 children, and other accomplishments, she said.
While people who want to pile on Kristi Noem from behind a keyboard or a TV Camera.
— J (@JayTC53) March 5, 2026
DHS under Kristi Noem's leadership
-Over 3 million illegals deported.
-Zero Border crossing in the last 11 months
-over 1,500 known terrorists arrested
- Net negative migration 1st time… pic.twitter.com/C9HGvPewBz
Responding to Trump’s announcement, Mullin said in a live interview with an ABC News reporter that he is “super excited about this opportunity” and that he is “great friends” with Trump.
“I wasn’t expecting the call today,” he told the news outlet.
He said that he is “ready to get started” and that his focus will be on keeping “the homeland secure.”
Mullin praised Noem “as a friend” and said he supported her role as head of DHS, noting that she had a difficult job to perform.
Mullin said he and the Trump administration will now work toward getting confirmed in the Senate and will speak with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.).
At least one Democrat, Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.), wrote on March 5 in a post on X that he would back Mullin to head DHS.
In the Truth Social post, Trump praised Mullin as an individual who “will work tirelessly” to secure the U.S.–Mexico border and deal with “migrant crime, murderers, and other criminals from illegally entering” the United States.
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Noem’s departure as head of DHS comes in the midst of a tumultuous time for the department, weeks after federal immigration agents were involved in two shooting deaths in Minneapolis after officers were surged to the city.
During an appearance before the House Judiciary Committee on March 3, Noem was asked about the shooting deaths of Alex Pretti and Renee Good in Minneapolis during incidents in January. Democratic lawmakers criticized her for the department’s efforts in the city—as well as other efforts targeting illegal immigration—and claimed that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents have used excessive force.
Noem defended her department and the efforts to crack down on illegal immigration, saying that ICE agents are following the law in the face of violent protests. A number of Republicans in the hearing backed her assertions and said that she is working to deal with mass illegal immigration that was not dealt with under the previous presidential administration.
Aside from the questioning, a number of Democratic lawmakers had said they might work to impeach Noem following the shooting of Pretti. Some, including Fetterman, called on Trump to remove her instead.
“DO NOT make the mistake President [Joe] Biden made for not firing a grossly incompetent DHS Secretary,” Fetterman wrote in a post in January, calling for her termination.
DHS has remained partially shut down for weeks in the wake of the shootings. Democrats have said they would opt to refund the agency if ICE agents were forced to adhere to stricter rules.
Mullin, meanwhile, has mounted a defense of DHS in several media appearances since the shutdown started, including during an interview in mid-February with CNN in which he accused Democrats of engaging in “political theater.”
“They’re not stopping the Border Patrol from doing their job,“ the Republican senator told CNN. ”All this is a political theater because the State of the Union is coming up a week from Tuesday.”
“If this was really a serious conversation, they wouldn’t be holding the [Transportation Security Administration] workers or [Federal Emergency Management Agency] or the Coast Guard hostage over something that cannot be done by the ridiculous shutdown of DHS,” Mullin said.
Democrats expressed support for Noem leaving the DHS.
“This proves that lawlessness is not a winning strategy,” Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) told The Epoch Times.
Rep. Andy Kim (D-N.J.) told reporters: “She’s been an absolute disaster. And I was just saying it’s probably the most popular decision that Trump’s made as president.”
Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) told reporters that Noem’s departure could end the DHS funding impasse “if, and it is a big if, the Department of Homeland Security commits to the reforms that the American people are demanding,” referring to Democrats’ demands for the agency.
Republicans praised Mullin.
“He’s going to do a great job,“ Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.), Mullin’s Senate counterpart, told reporters. ”He’s an executive. He knows the books. He knows how to be able to deal with the issues.”
Sen. Todd Young (R-Ind.) said on X: “Senator Mullin is a friend who has spent a lot of time working on issues related to our homeland security and has the trust and confidence of the President. He will do a great job and has my full support.”
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) told reporters Mullin “has been a really good liaison between the Senate, actually the whole Congress and the White House.”
