Trump Fires DHS Head Noem              03/06 06:27

   President Donald Trump on Thursday fired his embattled Homeland Security 
Secretary Kristi Noem, after mounting criticism over her leadership of the 
department, including the handling of the administration's immigration 
crackdown and disaster response.

   WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Donald Trump on Thursday fired his embattled 
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, after mounting criticism over her 
leadership of the department, including the handling of the administration's 
immigration crackdown and disaster response.

   Trump, who said he would nominate Oklahoma Republican Sen. Markwayne Mullin 
in her place, made the announcement on social media after Noem faced a two-day 
grilling on Capitol Hill this week from GOP members as well as Democrats.

   Noem's departure marks a stunning turnaround for a close ally to the 
president who was tasked with steering his centerpiece policy of mass 
deportations. But she appeared to increasingly become a liability for Trump, 
with questions arising over her spending at her department and over her conduct 
in the aftermath of the shooting deaths of two protesters in Minneapolis 
earlier this year.

   Trump said Noem "has served us well, and has had numerous and spectacular 
results (especially on the Border!)." He said he was making her a "Special 
Envoy for The Shield of the Americas," a new security initiative that he said 
would focus on the Western Hemisphere.

   Noem, who appeared at a law enforcement event in Nashville, Tennessee, 
moments after Trump's announcement, did not address her ouster there. She read 
from prepared remarks and was not asked by attendees about the development.

   Later, in a social media post, she thanked Trump for the new appointment and 
touted her accomplishments as secretary.

   "We have made historic accomplishments at the Department of Homeland 
Security to make America safe again," she wrote.

   White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the administration will 
work with the GOP-led Senate to get Mullin, whom she called "extraordinarily 
qualified," confirmed to lead DHS "as soon as possible."

   The administration's immigration crackdown faced criticism, especially in 
Minnesota

   Noem is the first Cabinet secretary to leave during Trump's second term. Her 
tenure looked increasingly short-lived after hearings in Congress this week 
where she faced rare but blistering criticism from Republican lawmakers. One 
particular point of scrutiny was a $220 million ad campaign featuring Noem that 
encouraged people in the country illegally to leave voluntarily.

   Noem told lawmakers that Trump was aware of the campaign in advance, but 
Trump disputed that in an interview Thursday with Reuters, saying he did not 
sign off on the ad campaign.

   Noem has faced waves of criticism as she's overseen Trump's immigration 
crackdown, especially since the shooting deaths of the two protesters in 
Minneapolis at the hands of immigration enforcement officers. In the immediate 
aftermath of the deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, Noem portrayed both of 
them as aggressors, contradicting widely viewed videos and descriptions of 
their deaths from bystanders. She declined to apologize for her description 
over two days of Congressional testimony.

   The former South Dakota governor was also criticized over the way her 
department has spent billions of dollars allocated to it by Congress.

   Her department, DHS, has been at the center of a funding battle in Congress 
over immigration enforcement tactics and has been shut down for 20 days, 
although many of the employees are continuing to work, often without pay.

   Even before Noem's appearance before key congressional committees this week, 
Republican lawmakers had been anticipating the secretary's eventual ouster, 
particularly after her handling of the immigration enforcement crackdown in 
Minneapolis.

   As they tried to end the ongoing Homeland Security shutdown, Senate 
Republicans had noted privately to Democratic senators that Noem was likely on 
her way out and that that should prompt Democrats to move forward with agreeing 
to fund the department again, according to two people familiar with the 
discussions.

   Democrats did not see that as an actual concession by Republicans, 
considering Noem was becoming a political liability for the GOP, said the 
people, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private negotiations.

   Aside from immigration, Noem also faced criticism -- including from 
Republicans -- over the pace of emergency funding approved through the Federal 
Emergency Management Agency and for the Trump administration's response to 
disasters.

   Critics welcomed Noem's departure. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey wrote "good 
riddance" on social media, a sentiment echoed by Senate Democratic Leader Chuck 
Schumer.

   Some immigration activists questioned whether her departure would change the 
execution of an immigration agenda that they fundamentally disagree with.

   "This is not accountability, just a reshuffling of the enablers of the 
agenda of President Trump," said Vanessa Crdenas, Executive Director of 
America's Voice, an advocacy group. She said Noem's tenure was "marked by 
cruelty."

   Gregory Bovino, a Border Patrol official who was elevated under Noem's watch 
to lead immigration crackdowns in cities including Los Angeles, Chicago and 
Minneapolis, was one of the few who applauded Noem's tenure.

   "She is the best Secretary I ever worked for, period. The others weren't 
even close. Noem is the ultimate patriot," Bovino told The Associated Press.

   DHS leadership changes come at a pivotal time

   Mullin would need to be confirmed by the Senate, but under a federal law 
governing executive branch vacancies, he would be allowed to serve as an acting 
Homeland Security secretary as long as his nomination is formally pending.

   Voting in the Senate just after Trump's announcement, Mullin said he has "no 
idea" how quickly his nomination will move.

   "The president and I are good friends. So we look forward to working closer 
with the White House, and obviously I'm gonna be over there a lot more," he 
said.

   Mullin would take over the third-largest department in government that has 
responsibility for carrying out Trump's hardline immigration agenda. And he 
would assume the role at a pivotal time for that agenda.

   Immigration enforcement during the first year of Trump's administration was 
largely defined by high-profile, made-for-social-media operations with flashy 
names, often led by Bovino, who reported directly to Noem. Noem herself often 
went out on those operations, riding along with officers when they went out to 
make arrests.

   But those high-profile operations in places like Los Angeles, Chicago and 
Minneapolis often led to clashes with activists and protesters that were 
captured on video and drove opposition to the president's immigration agenda.

   That culminated with the shooting deaths in Minneapolis after which Trump 
shuffled leadership of the operation. The number of officers there was drawn 
down shortly after.