EXCLUSIVE: Inside Kristi Noem’s Final Weeks Leading DHS

Former Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s final weeks on the job were tumultuous — and the White House wasn’t the only place where grievances piled up, insiders told the Daily Caller.

Trump announced Thursday on Truth Social that he was replacing Noem with Sen. Markwayne Mullin and moving her to a new role as Special Envoy for the Shield of the Americas. The shakeup followed a tense Senate hearing and a wave of press coverage about Noem’s alleged infidelity and her management of the department.

“It wasn’t a matter of if, it was a matter of when,” one source briefed on the situation told the Caller.

One source briefed on the matter and one administration official told the Caller that Noem was pushed out because of what they described as “unfortunate leadership failures,” including “the fallout in Minnesota, the ad campaign, the allegations of infidelity, the mismanagement of her staff, and her constant feuding with the heads of other agencies, including CBP and ICE,” the administration official said.

The source briefed on the matter told the Caller that there were factions inside the White House that did not like Noem and Corey Lewandowski — a special government employee whom press reports have linked romantically to Noem. The tension, the source said, seemed to stem from the 2024 election, when Lewandowski tried to get Trump campaign managers Susie Wiles and Chris LaCivita fired.

“There were major differences between the two groups,” the source said.

A second administration official pushed back on that characterization, saying Noem and Lewandowski’s relationship with the White House has always been “cordial and respectful.”

Thank you @POTUS Trump for appointing me as the Special Envoy for the Shield of the Americas. @SecRubio and @SecWar are incredible leaders and I look forward to working with them closely to dismantle cartels that have poured drugs into our nation and killed our children and…

— Secretary Kristi Noem (@Sec_Noem) March 5, 2026

The second official said that at the end of last year, Noem told Trump and his White House that she was not getting the support she needed. Trump agreed and stepped in to help, the official said, and conditions improved — until Operation Metro Surge in Minneapolis.

The DHS immigration crackdown drew protests and condemnation from Minnesota officials and involved two officer-involved shootings that left two Americans dead.

Noem felt that she was thrown under the bus after the Minneapolis situation, the second administration official told the Caller.

“It’s laughable that Kristi is trying to blame her own self-inflicted issues on someone else. The issues that led to Kristi’s replacement were a result of her own wrongdoings, not a lack of support from the White House,” the second official added.

Reports have pointed to Noem’s congressional hearings — where she said the president was aware of her $220 million DHS ad campaign  — as the nail in the coffin.

The ad campaign — a border-security media buy that featured Noem prominently — drew scrutiny after reporting that DHS invoked border “emergency” justifications to bypass the normal contract bidding process. A Noem-connected consulting firm was quietly paid through subcontracting arrangements, reports stated.

The second administration official told the Caller that the White House was aware of Noem’s ad contract, and said senior White House officials were even involved in getting the funds approved. The first administration official disputed that, saying the president was not aware. Trump told Reuters that he didn’t know about it.

“There wasn’t a single member [of Congress] defending her at all,” a source familiar with the situation told the Caller, adding that lawmakers viewed the ad campaign as self-serving and were unimpressed with the effort. (RELATED: John Kennedy Holds Kristi Noem’s Feet To Fire Over Expensive Ad Campaign)

I look forward to working with Kristi Noem as Special Envoy for The Shield of the Americas — our new security initiative comprised of 13 countries.

Kristi has achieved incredible results as Secretary of Homeland Security and will be a tremendous asset in our effort to promote…

— Secretary Marco Rubio (@SecRubio) March 5, 2026

Noem will report to Secretary Marco Rubio in her new position. The administration is expected to soon announce its new Western Hemisphere security initiative.

The second administration official said Rubio and Hegseth respect Noem — a key reason she was reassigned rather than fully ousted.

While relations between Noem and the White House remain strained, the second official pointed to the fact that she wasn’t outright removed from the administration as evidence that there is still appreciation and respect for the former South Dakota governor.

Noem was on stage in Nashville at the Major Cities Conference when Trump posted his Truth Social announcement. The second administration official said Noem has known for the past week that she was being replaced.

The official added that Trump wanted to announce the new security initiative in the Western Hemisphere on Saturday, which contributed to Thursday’s decision to officially reassign Noem.

“Anyone who’s close to the situation at all could see this coming,” the source briefed on the matter told the Caller.

DHS did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller’s request for comment.