President Donald Trump’s move Thursday to oust Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and replace her with Oklahoma Republican Sen. Markwayne Mullin drew at least one Democrat’s support. While Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., became the first Senate Democrat to publicly back Mullin, other Democrats made it clear that their worries over Trump’s immigration policies remain a primary concern, meaning Mullin’s confirmation still could be a battle. “Changing the name plate on the door doesn't change the fact that they are committed to using DHS to terrorize communities and migrants in this country,” said Sen. Christopher S. Murphy, D-Conn. Noem’s removal as DHS chief comes after weeks of pressure from Democratic and some Republican lawmakers following two American citizens’ deaths at the hands of federal agents in Minnesota and in the midst of a weekslong shutdown of DHS spurred by disagreements about the Trump administration’s immigration policies. But the president reportedly viewed as a final straw her testimony to lawmakers this week that he personally signed off on her $200 million mass deportation program advertising campaign. On Thursday, Trump announced she would take on a new role. “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,” he wrote on social media. “I thank Kristi for her service at ‘Homeland,’” he added. Trump dubbed Mullin “a MAGA Warrior” and said he would “work tirelessly to Keep our Border Secure, Stop Migrant Crime, Murderers, and other Criminals from illegally entering our Country, End the Scourge of Illegal Drugs and, MAKE AMERICA SAFE AGAIN.” A White House spokesman said the administration would "work to confirm" Mullin "as quickly as possible." Mullin reacts Hours after Trump abruptly made the announcement of the personnel change via Truth Social, Mullin told reporters his selection was “not a complete surprise. “The president and I, we're great friends, and we get along great,” Mullin said on Capitol Hill. “I look forward to working with him in his Cabinet. Of course, I gotta go through this little thing called confirmation, and we're going to get started right away.” He said he wasn’t planning on going to the White House on Thursday, joking he needs to “talk to his wife first.” Fetterman, meanwhile, quickly pledged support, posting on the social platform X on Thursday, “I’m not sure how many fellow Democrats will vote to support our [colleague] as the next DHS Secretary, but I am AYE.” Mullin said that Fetterman had already texted him. “I want to try to earn [Democrat’s] support, and I'm going to be very open and honest with them,” he said. “And at the end of the day, all I can do is do my job. I'm not going to get in the tit for tat, but if they have real concerns, I'm going to listen to it,” he said. “I'm going to see if it's practical, but nothing's going to prevent me from doing my job. I'm going to enforce the policies and the laws that Congress has passed, and we're going to protect our homeland.” Mullin’s pending departure also leaves a coveted vacancy in the Senate. Under state law, Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt must appoint a replacement to serve the rest of Mullin’s term, but that person is precluded from running for a full term. Mullin was up for reelection this fall. Possible contenders to seek a full term in November include Reps. Stephanie Bice and Kevin Hern. Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales rates the seat as “Solid Republican.” Other Democratic reaction It’s unclear what the support will be from other Democrats, who have criticized Noem’s role but expressed concern that deep-rooted problems at the agency start at the top under the direction of White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller. One Senate Democrat who spoke on condition of anonymity expressed such distrust of the agency and Miller’s role that wide support among Democrats, even for one of their colleagues, would be a heavy lift for the caucus. Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., who voted to support Noem’s confirmation, told reporters “It sounds right to me that Kristi Noem is no longer the secretary of Homeland,” but not about whether she regrets her vote last year. Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., who was tackled and forcibly removed from a press conference held by Noem last year in Los Angeles, said it was “about time” for her departure. “But make no mistake: a new secretary doesn’t change the need for serious reforms at DHS and doesn’t undo the cruelty and terror the agency has unleashed on our communities at the direction of Donald Trump,” he said. Sen. Andy Kim, D-N.J., said that this might be “the most popular decision that Trump's made in his presidency.” “But I've always had the concern that it's not just about her. I mean, this is about Stephen Miller. This is just about the dangerous policies that he and Trump are pushing. So, you know, we'll see what comes next,” he said. First major ejection of Trump 2.0 Noem’s departure was the first major ejection of a Cabinet member during Trump’s second term. His first was marked by a steady revolving door of Cabinet officials and senior White House advisers. Noem, a former South Dakota House member and governor, began her DHS stint as a superstar in Trump’s eyes. But her rocky tenure came under renewed scrutiny after federal immigration enforcement personnel from agencies under her authority shot and killed two American citizens who pushed back on their tactics implementing Trump’s mass deportation program. Amid reports of the president’s frustrations with how Noem and other senior administration officials responded to federal agents in Minneapolis wrestling 37-year-old nurse and protester Alex Pretti to the ground and shooting him dead, Trump earlier this year was asked if his DHS secretary should resign. “No,” he responded, though he did deploy border czar Tom Homan to take over mass deportation efforts there, sidelining Gregory Bovino, Customs and Border Protection's commander-at-large. But on Thursday, as the president concluded she was hindering his second term. In the aftermath of Pretti’s death, many congressional Democrats called for Noem’s ouster — echoed by at least two Republican senators: Thom Tillis, the retiring North Carolinian, and Alaska’s Lisa Murkowski, a moderate who at times has been a thorn in Trump’s side. “I think that what she’s done in Minnesota should be disqualifying, she should be out of a job,” Tillis said recently of Noem. “I mean really, it’s just amateurish, it’s terrible, it’s making the president look bad on policies that he won on … they’ve got to de-escalate and treat these communities with some respect.” On Thursday, Tillis quickly posted his endorsement of Mullin. “Senator Markwayne Mullin is a great guy and a great choice to lead DHS, restore competence, and refocus efforts on quickly distributing disaster aid, keeping the border secure, and targeting violent illegal immigrants for deportation,” he tweeted. And Tillis, who days earlier had excoriated Noem over her handling of DHS as well as an incident she wrote about in her book “No Going Back” of shooting her dog, couldn’t help but get in another dig about the woman Mullin has been tapped to replace. “Another big positive: he likes dogs,” he wrote. Aidan Quigley and Valerie Yurk contributed to this report.
