Kristi Noem ousted as Homeland Security Chief, Trump nominates Markwayne Mullin

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 administrations immigration crackdown and disaster responseTrump who said he would nominate her in place of Oklahoma Republican Sen Markwayne Mullin made the announcement on social media two days after Noem faced a grilling on Capitol Hill from GOP members as well as Democrats Trump said hell make Noem a Special Envoy for The Shield of the Americas a new security initiative that he said would focus on the Western HemisphereNoem took the stage in Nashville Tennessee to address a law enforcement event moments after Trumps announcement but made no immediate mention of her Department of Homeland Security ouster Instead she read from prepared remarks including reinforcing Trumps message from the State of the Union last monthNoem is the first Cabinet secretary to leave during Trumps second term Her departure caps a tumultuous tenure overseeing immigration enforcement tactics that have been met with protests and lawsuitsHer tenure looked increasingly shortlived after hearings in Congress this week where she faced rare but blistering criticism from Republican lawmakers One particular point of scrutiny was a USD 220 million ad campaign featuring Noem that encouraged people in the country illegally to leave voluntarilyNoem 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 Her department DHS has also been shut down for 20 days although many of the employees are continuing to work often without payNoem has faced waves of criticism as shes overseen Trumps immigration crackdown especially since the shooting deaths of two protesters in Minneapolis at the hands of immigration enforcement officers The former South Dakota governor was also criticised over the way her department has spent billions of dollars allocated to it by CongressFrustrations over Noems execution of the Republican presidents hardline immigration agenda particularly her leadership after the shooting deaths as well as her handling of disaster response paved the way for her downfall She faced blistering criticism from Democrats and some Republicans in the Congress hearings this weekAside 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 administrations response to disastersMullin 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 pendingVoting in the Senate just after Trumps 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 Im gonna be over there a lot more he saidThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever