Trump Fires Noem

Is Donald Trump smarter than most South Dakotans? Today, the worst President ever showed a glimmer of good sense and did something South Dakotans never did—he fired Kristi Noem:

Donald Trump on Thursday announced he was replacing Kristi Noem as the homeland security secretary, capping weeks of bipartisan complaints about her leadership after immigration agents killed two US citizens and reports emerged that she was involved in a personal relationship with a top deputy.

Noem’s firing was the first major personnel shake-up of Trump’s second term. The president made it public in a post on Truth Social, in which he said Markwayne Mullin, a Republican Oklahoma senator, would take over from Noem starting on 31 March [Chris Stein, “Trump Fires Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem,” The Guardian, 2026.03.05].

South Dakotans hired Kristi Noem for three government jobs: State Representative in 2006, U.S. Representative in 2010, and Governor in 2018. Despite regular demonstrations of her ill-suitedness for public service, South Dakotans reëlected Noem five times during her 18-year local political career. Donald Trump needed 16 months from the time he picked her to recognize and act on her gross lack of qualifications (see here, here, here, here, here, here, and here) for the job she says she asked for.

Or maybe he just got sick of her fooling around with her top advisor Corey Lewandowski.

Whatever spurred Trump’s South Dakota-beating good sense, it didn’t go far. Trump is still keeping her on his leash with a made-up job:

In a social media post, Noem wrote she looked forward to her new role as a special envoy for a new “Security Initiative in the Western Hemisphere.”

In that role, she will work with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, she said, adding that her new position will “build on the partnerships and national security expertise” that she made as DHS secretary, but did not go into detail.

“I look forward to working with them closely to dismantle cartels that have poured drugs into our nation and killed our children and grandchildren,” she said, adding that the “Western Hemisphere is absolutely critical for U.S. security.” Trump said her title would be special envoy for the Shield of Americas, “our new Security Initiative in the Western Hemisphere” that will be announced at a conference in Doral, Florida, on Saturday [Ariana Figueroa, “Kristi Noem Out as DHS Secretary; Trump Says She’s Moving to Job as Special Envoy,” South Dakota Searchlight, 2026.03.05].

No word yet on how many jets a special envoy gets.

Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York aptly summarizes Noem’s corrupt tenure at Homeland Security:

From day one of her tenure as the so-called Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem has proven to be a deeply unqualified, unhinged, out-of-control, pathological liar who repeatedly abused her power. She was a complete and total disaster. We made clear weeks ago that Kristi Noem must be fired or she would face impeachment. Her well-deserved termination is long overdue, consistent with what we have demanded.

Under her watch, taxpayer dollars have been weaponized by DHS to kill American citizens, brutalize communities and violently target law-abiding immigrant families, all while she paraded around in a luxury jet and wasted public funds to glorify her ICE Barbie self-image. We will hold her accountable for every single dollar that was corruptly spent at DHS [Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, statement, 2026.03.05].

Our Minnesota neighbors who suffered so horribly under Noem’s senseless persecution are glad to see Noem out:

“Kristi Noem has done a stunning amount of damage and it’s good she’s gone. But this doesn’t change the fact that we need a complete overhaul of DHS, impartial investigations into the killings of two American citizens, and information on children that were taken from Minnesota,” Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz posted on his X account.

U.S. Sen. Tina Smith, a Democrat from Minnesota, released a statement on Noem’s departure.

“Kristi Noem led a lawless and violent agency that wreaked havoc on our state and killed two Americans. Her firing is welcome news, but it is much too late,” Smith said in her statement. “Firing Kristi Noem will not bring back Alex Pretti. It will not bring back Renee Good. It will not make Minnesota whole again after the horror and devastation wrought upon us by Operation Metro Surge. Until Congress passes meaningful restraints to rein in ICE’s terror, nothing will substantively change. ICE will take its reckless and dangerous behavior to whichever city or town the President decides to target next.”

Minnesota’s Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan was slightly more candid. “Don’t let the door hit you on the way out. Just because you got fired, Minnesotans won’t forget what you did to our neighbors. We will continue to fight for you to be held accountable,” Flanagan wrote on her X account.

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey had a two word response on his X account. “Good riddance,” Frey said [Rae Yost, Marissa Brunkhorst, and Michael Doorn, “Noem’s Job Loss Stirs Up Social Media,” KELO-TV, 2026.03.05].

For the first time in this Presidential term, I can say, honestly, “Well done, Mr. President.”

p.s.: Amelia Joy made a good decision back in 2024 when she unhitched her wagon from Kristi Noem’s star. Noem lured Joy from Florida to Pierre in January 2023 to spin and burn the South Dakota press. Joy left for Washington 17 months later, after languishing underused and underappreciated in the Capitol by a Governor who tanked her own Vice-Presidential aspirations by bragging about killing her dog and her goat. Joy announced on LinkedIn Monday that she is starting a new job as Senior Advisor in the Office of Communication and Outreach at the Department of Education… a real job in a real department of the United States federal government.