Kristi Noem Moments During Trump's Second Term That Will Go Down In Infamy

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On March 5, 2026, Kristi Noem was officially axed by President Donald Trump following months of pushback and controversy surrounding her tenure at the Department of Homeland Security. Trump made the announcement on his Truth Social platform (where else?), confirming that Oklahoma Senator Markwayne Mullin would be replacing Noem effective March 31. But she isn't saying bye-bye just yet — as it turns out, Noem is getting a new gig. "The current Secretary, Kristi Noem, who has served us well, and has had numerous and spectacular results (especially on the Border!), will be moving to be Special Envoy for The Shield of the Americas, our new Security Initiative in the Western Hemisphere we are announcing on Saturday in Doral, Florida," Trump revealed (sounds like a made-up job TBH), adding, "I thank Kristi for her service at 'Homeland.'" 

In a statement, Noem thanked the president and said she looks forward to working with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. Her firing came shortly after she testified before Congress and insinuated that Trump knew about the massive government budget being spent on DHS ads, which reportedly upset him (and which Trump denied). "The Western Hemisphere is absolutely critical for U.S. security," Noem stated, per the Homeland Security website. "In this new role, I will be able to build on the partnerships and national security expertise I forged over my time as Secretary of Homeland Security." Although brief, her DHS tenure was marked by a series of headline-grabbing moments that will forever live in infamy.

Throughout her time with the Department of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem worked hard to stay in President Donald Trump's good graces, making sure to butter him up every chance she got. Even with rumors circulating that Noem was about to be fired, the DHS secretary continued to display her loyalty by speaking highly of her boss at every opportunity. "The president is fantastic, and I'm proud every single day to be able to work for him," Noem informed reporters when asked about the exit rumors (via Keloland). She also stressed that she intended to serve as a member of the administration until the end of Trump's second term. "I will serve at the president's pleasure, which I'm very grateful to get to do," Noem said. "He gives me a wonderful opportunity to do a job that matters for the safety of the American people." 

Meanwhile, at a livestreamed Cabinet meeting just a few days prior, the government employee also lavished praise on Trump while keeping him up to the date on the latest developments at FEMA. At one point, she made a weird comment while seemingly attempting to suck up to him (Noem couldn't have been more obvious either). "Sir, you made it through hurricane season without a hurricane. Even you kept the hurricanes away. We appreciate that," she enthused (via X, formerly known as Twitter).  Despite the president looking visibly bored and unamused, she kept fawning all over him and stroking his ego. 

The DHS secretary also expressed how honored she was to serve under his leadership. "You are a great American," Noem later gushed to her boss (via People). "The fights you pick are the right fights. Thank you for letting us get up every day and have a purpose."

One of the most scandalous rumors about Kristi Noem, which circulated during her stint at DHS, surrounds the years-long affair that's supposedly still happening with Corey Lewandowski, her chief-of-staff and Donald Trump's former campaign manager. Noem, who has been married for years, has denied claims romantically linking her to Lewandowski, but speculation about their affair persists. In the weeks leading up to her ousting, the New York Post claimed that he had fired a Coast Guard pilot for leaving Noem's blanket on a plane, only to reinstate them once the alleged couple realized no other pilot was available to fly the two of them home. 

When asked for comment by the Wall Street Journal, a spokesperson for DHS did not refute this claim, acknowledging only that their boss had simply "made personnel decisions to deliver excellence." Huh. Furthermore, Lewandowski acted as a right-hand man to Noem, overseeing personnel operations at her department despite having no authority to do so (he was officially described as a special adviser to Noem and a special government employee). Even Trump was reportedly growing increasingly concerned by their eyebrow-raising relationship. 

"Yes, he likes [Noem], but it has been brought to his attention that [Lewandowski] is a problem, and the agency is being mismanaged because of it," a White House insider disclosed to CNN, in November 2025. Meanwhile, the following month, a former official dished to The Bulwark, "Things are f***ed. It's horrible, they're going to destroy this place," referring to the controversial pair (via the Daily Beast). "I'm just hoping the new secretary gets here in time."

In her brief stint at DHS, Kristi Noem earned the nickname "ICE Barbie" after being heavily criticized for essentially dressing up as an ICE agent. She showed up to raids in full glam, with heavy makeup and her hair curled to perfection. Even conservative commentator Megyn Kelly found it distasteful. "Can we talk about Kristi Noem and these ridiculous photo ops?" she asked during an April 2025 episode of "The Megyn Kelly Show." "She's cosplaying an ICE agent. And she of course is doing it with, like, 25 pounds of hair, only to be outdone by her 30 pounds of makeup and false eyelashes — and there's no false eyelashes on an ICE raid." 

Kelly accused Noem of "trying to glamorize the mission" and making the raids all about herself. "I can't stand these photo ops," she added. "I think they diminish ICE." The outspoken commentator definitely isn't alone. Netizens brutally called out Noem for her full glam look during an NYC immigration raid. The DHS secretary's antics even earned her a spoof on the August 6, 2025 episode of "South Park," in which Noem's lip fillers were roasted and she was portrayed as a puppy killer (in her memoir, "No Going Back," Noem admitted to shooting a 14-month-old dog). 

The Trump staffer claimed she hadn't seen the episode during an interview on "The Glenn Beck Program." However, she did decry it as "lazy," arguing, "They just constantly make fun of women for how they look. Only the liberals and the extremists do that." Noem added, "If they wanted to criticize my job, go ahead and do that, but clearly they can't. They just pick something petty."