Trump Ousts Noem as DHS Secretary; Dems Say Funding Fight Will Go On

Noem spoke at an event in Nashville today but did not address her ouster.
via Reuters
By Yuval Rosenberg and Michael Rainey

Good evening. President Trump today said he is replacing Kristi Noem as homeland security secretary. Democrats welcomed the move but said it does not change their demand for reforms to the administration's immigration enforcement. The Department of Homeland Security shutdown, now in its 20th day, appears set to go on for a while. Here's the latest.

Trump Ousts Noem as DHS Secretary; Dems Say Funding Fight Will Go On

President Trump on Thursday ousted Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and named Oklahoma Republican Sen. Markwayne Mullin to replace her. The change follows months of turmoil at DHS as Noem came under intense criticism for her handling of the administration's immigration crackdown and faced bipartisan rebukes over her leadership of the department.

Trump reportedly was upset by Noem's performance at congressional oversight hearings this week, especially her testimony that he had approved a controversial $220 million ad campaign that featured her prominently. Republican Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana pointedly told Noem on Tuesday that the pricey ad campaign, which was subcontracted to a company with ties to her former spokesperson, "puts the president in a terribly awkward spot."

In a telephone interview with Reuters on Thursday, Trump said he did not sign off on the ad campaign and "never knew anything about it."

Trump said in a social media post Thursday that Noem will now serve as "Special Envoy for The Shield of the Americas," with more information to come on Saturday.

Democrats say DHS funding fight will go on: The change atop DHS comes on Day 20 of the department's ongoing partial shutdown, as Democrats continue to call for significant reforms to federal immigration enforcement tactics after federal agents killed two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis earlier this year.

Democratic leaders welcomed Noem's ouster but insisted that it does not change their position in the DHS funding fight. "Good riddance," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said of Noem in a post on X. "But the problems at DHS go much deeper than any one person. The President must rein in ICE and end the violence."

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said Noem had been a "disaster," but that her removal does not satisfy Democrats' demands for reform. "A change in personnel is not sufficient. We need a change in policy," Jeffries told reporters.

Democrats in the Senate proceeded to again block a full-year funding bill for DHS. The measure failed in a 51-45 vote that fell short of the 60 votes needed. Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman was the only Democrat to support the measure.

Sen. Patty Murray, the top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee, tried to get unanimous consent to pass a bill funding all of DHS except for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Customs and Border Protection and the Office of the Secretary. Senate Republicans blocked that request.

"Democrats want to get TSA officers paid and fund disaster relief, but we will not vote to help Republicans spend one more dime letting Stephen Miller terrorize American cities," Murray said. "And we will not vote to cut a blank check so that ICE can barge into Americans' homes without a warrant. We will not vote to allow ICE agents to continue wearing masks as they terrorize our communities and evade accountability. We need accountability for ICE and Border Patrol."

Republicans warned that Democrats are undermining homeland security at a dangerous time. Senate Majority Leader John Thune noted before the vote that many DHS employees would be receiving only a partial paycheck today and that the shutdown is causing other disruptions in the midst of a heightened threat environment. He said Democrats look to be playing politics with the issue rather than trying to resolve it.

"And if public safety ends up suffering as a result of their decision to shut down the Department of Homeland Security? If hardworking Americans have to go without paychecks?" Thune asked. "Well, apparently that's just fine with Senate Democrats."

House passes another DHS appropriations bill: Later in the afternoon, the House passed a DHS funding bill in a 221-209 vote that saw four Democrats join with Republicans in backing the measure - fewer than the seven Democrats who had supported a similar bill back in January. The four Democrats voting yes on Thursday were Reps. Henry Cuellar of California, Don Davis of North Carolina, Jared Golden of Maine and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez of Washington.

House war powers resolution fails: The House also effectively greenlighted the war against Iran by defeating a bipartisan war powers resolution that would have blocked future military action without congressional approval. The 212-219 vote saw two Republicans, Reps. Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Warren Davidson of Ohio, vote yes. Four Democrats - Cuellar, Golden, Greg Landsman of Ohio and Juan Vargas of California - opposed the resolution.

What's next: The failed Senate vote ensures that the shutdown will stretch into next week -and likely beyond that, since the House is scheduled to be out next week and negotiations between the White House and Democratic negotiators have reportedly yielded little progress. As for DHS, Trump said Mullin would take over "effective March 31." Mullin will still need to be confirmed by the Senate to take the position on a permanent basis, but that appears likely.

Two Dozen States Sue to Stop Trump's New Tariff

In a lawsuit filed Thursday, two dozen states moved to stop the Trump administration from imposing a new 15% global tariff on imports.

President Trump declared a 10% global tariff two weeks ago after the Supreme Court struck down some of the tariffs he had imposed on trading partners during his first year in office. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Wednesday the global levy would be going up to 15% as soon as this week.

Trump is claiming that Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 allows him to impose tariffs as high as 15% for a period of 150 days before needing the consent of Congress. The lawsuit - led by attorneys general from Oregon, Arizona, California and New York - argues that Section 122 applies only to specific circumstances related to international payment flows and was never meant to authorize across-the-board tariffs.

The suit also argues that Trump's tariffs will increase costs for consumers, businesses and states.

Inconveniently for the Trump administration, the Justice Department argued last year that Section 122 does not apply to the issue of trade deficits - the main focus of Trump's effort.

Nevertheless, legal experts say there's a decent chance that Trump could prevail in the suit, since the courts tend to be reluctant to override White House policy and the Section 122 tariffs could conceivably be interpreted along lines favorable to the administration.

Judge orders collections halt: Late Wednesday, a federal judge ordered U.S. Customs and Border Protection to stop collecting fees from Trump's tariffs imposed under the authority of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, the use of which was rejected by the Supreme Court two weeks ago.

Judge Richard K. Eaton of the United States Court of International Trade ruled that imported goods that were still being evaluated under the IEEPA should be reevaluated without reference to those tariffs. He also said that "all importers of record" should benefit from the Supreme Court's ruling, suggesting to some legal experts that any firm or individual who paid the IEEPA tariff would be entitled to a refund.

U.S. importers paid more than $130 billion under the IEEPA tariffs. Many are hoping for full refunds, but the courts still need to define a mechanism for providing repayments, and to clarify whether all importers are entitled to receive them, or just those operating in a potentially narrower timeframe.

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