Noem out, Republican senator in as new Homeland Security secretary

President Donald Trump demoted Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on Thursday, naming Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., to fill the post, which is responsible for overseeing the U.S. Coast Guard, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Transportation Security Administration and dozens of other federal agencies.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump said Mullin will take over the department on March 31, although he must go through the Senate confirmation process. Noem will become a special envoy for a new security initiative called the “Shield of the Americas,” which Trump said will be unveiled Saturday.

Mullin is a former mixed martial arts fighter and congressman who has served in the Senate for three years. He sits on the Senate Armed Services, Appropriations, Health, Education, Labor and Pensions and Indian Affairs Committees.

He is a fierce Trump supporter and of the president’s policies, including the immigration crackdown. He also is the only Native American to serve in the U.S. Senate. This week, he drew criticism from veterans after an appearance on Fox News on Monday in which he voiced support for the Iran air strikes but described combat as if he had experienced it.

“War is ugly. It smells bad. And if anybody’s ever been there and been able to smell the war that’s happened around you and taste it and fill it in your nostrils and hear it, it’s something that you’ll never forget,” said Mullin, who has never served in uniform.

Veterans responded online, including Rep. Pat Ryan, D-N.Y., a former soldier who served in Iraq, and former Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger, an Air Force veteran.

“Hey @SenMullin, what the actual f— are you talking about? Did I miss the part of your bio where you served in combat (or served in uniform at all??). Call of Duty doesn’t count,” Ryan wrote.

“This is so odd. Mullin is NOT a war veteran,” Kinzinger wrote.

Last year, Mullin pledged that he would work together with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and he will have more opportunity to do so as Homeland Security secretary, given that the U.S. Coast Guard is deeply involved in drug interdiction and maritime enforcement operations, conducting high-profile seizures of sanctioned oil tankers and drug boats with the U.S. Navy.

The department Mullin will take over is currently in the middle of a government shutdown as a result of a standstill over ICE funding prompted by the killings of two American citizens, Renee Good and Veterans Affairs intensive care unit nurse Alex Pretti, during protests in Minneapolis.

Noem also has been blamed for the harsh treatment of suspects, including Americans detained without due process and faced widespread criticism for her frequent use of federal assets and questionable contracts at the department.

This week, the embattled secretary was grilled by Democrat and Republican lawmakers who questioned her department’s harsh deportation methods, her $220 million in spending on advertisements that prominently featured her and the detention of U.S. citizens.

During a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing Wednesday, Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., called for her resignation.

“Quality matters, not quantity — and what we’ve seen is a disaster under your leadership, Ms. Noem, a disaster,” Tillis said.

Under Noem, the Coast Guard launched its largest modernization initiative in decades after receiving $25 billion from the Trump administration to address longstanding maintenance and infrastructure issues, buy new ships, aircraft and other assets and increase force size.

The service’s “Force Design 2028,” as the effort is known, aims to redesign the service’s leadership structure, adding a service-specific secretary and other political appointees and reorganizing the flag officer corps.

Noem also worked closely with Sean Plankey, who acted as her senior adviser, on the reforms. Plankey stepped down from his position Wednesday to prepare for the confirmation process to lead the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.

“This job was transformational for myself and the U.S. Coast Guard,” said Plankey, a 2003 graduate of the Coast Guard Academy, in a LinkedIn post. “Under the leadership of Secretary Kristi Noem, we established Force Design 2028 and raised a $24.59B capital investment to recapitalize and transform the Nation’s premier maritime fighting force. These efforts led the Coast Guard to its highest drug interdiction totals in history.”

Noem currently lives in Coast Guard housing at Joint Base Bolling-Anacostia in Washington, D.C. She moved last summer into the home that is traditionally reserved for the Coast Guard commandant, citing security concerns of living in a neighborhood just across the river from the base.

During the hearing this week, Noem pushed back against reports that she was living in the commandant’s house, noting that she pays rent to the federal government and is living in Coast Guard quarters but “the commandant is in his house.”

Before being named commandant, Adm. Kevin Lunday was the service’s vice commandant who had designated quarters at the base. It is unclear whether Noem will vacate her quarters with her new position.

Mullin’s departure from the Senate will leave Republicans with 52 seats. Oklahoma law allows the governor to appoint a senator temporarily to fill his seat until the next statewide general election in November.