Kristi Noem Moments That Fueled Raging Resignation Rumors

Kristi Noem was fired by Donald Trump in early March 2026, but while we have no doubts she's sad to lose the dress-up opportunities (SWAT team Barbie, cowgirl vibes, full-on FEMA 'fits; they're all in her closet now) and her own starring role in the Department of Homeland Security's ad campaign, let's just say we'd been expecting her exit for a while. Granted, we thought she'd resign rather than be dismissed ... so that's embarrassing (for her). 

We'll start by noting that there had been requests for Noem to resign virtually since she took office in early 2025. That April, Illinois Congresswoman Delia Ramirez called for Noem to step down over having "disregarded the authority of Congress, the rule of law, the constitutional rights of residents, the courts, due process, and every check and balance that protects us from authoritarianism." Ramirez would continue to push for Noem to step down, and she wasn't alone. In the wake of the Texas floods that July, countless figures demanded her resignation, including Elizabeth Warren. Noem's response? "I hadn't heard that, but, you know, I don't care what she thinks," she chuckled in an interview with NBC News, adding that she had no plans to quit. 

Fast-forward to the end of 2025, and countless more political figures were urging the former governor of South Dakota to step down or calling for her to be fired. Regarding the latter, some insiders told The Bulwark they'd heard even Trump was considering replacing Noem. Publicly, however, he continued to back her, and Noem seemed to be holding strong. All that said, throughout her time as DHS secretary, there were a number of moments that had us thinking Noem did consider quitting (or was being advised to do so) — even if it did mean leaving her cosplays behind.

December 2025 saw Kristi Noem post a bunch of pictures to suggest she loved her job (or looked the part for it, anyway). However, the timing of the post — which seemed more like a roundup of Kate Middleton's royal engagements than what one would expect from a secretary of Homeland Security — certainly didn't feel organic. On the contrary, it kind of had us thinking that Noem was trying to overcompensate for something.

Just one day after Noem's Instagram photo dump featuring snaps of herself on horseback (and in a tasseled and bedazzled jacket, obvz), inspecting cowboy hats, and picking out Christmas trees, MS Now claimed a highly-placed insider said her position was in jeopardy. The source's exact words? She was on "very thin ice." Politico ran a similar story a few days later, and the outlet made a point of noting that it had several sources to bolster its claims. Granted, not all of those sources believed Noem was going to be fired from the Department of Homeland Security. One mused that she'd be allowed to quit of her own accord to pursue "another opportunity." In retrospect, that proved partially true, as while she lost her DHS role, Noem was immediately named Special Envoy for the Shield of the Americas.

It does bear mentioning that prior to Noem's firing-slash-reassignment, Donald Trump himself had denied there was any truth to the rumors he wanted her out. "I read a story that I'm unhappy with Kristi — I'm so happy with her. ... Why would I be unhappy? She's fantastic, actually," he gushed to members of the press (via Fox News). Talk about the president doth protest too much. 

Kristi Noem's inappropriate dress-up moments caught her a ton of flak during her time as DHS secretary, but there's no question that her rumored affair with Corey Lewandowski was even more damaging for her rep. 

Most people are well aware of the rumors of Noem's alleged extramarital relationship with Lewandowski (and between cozy pics of the two of them together and the fact that they didn't even bother to sit apart while at work, it didn't exactly look like they were trying to keep it quiet). According to some reports, Lewandowski came close to blowing up his own career over the affair, and  some mused that the same was true for Noem herself. This, after she was asked about rumors she was being replaced amid the simmering affair chatter and couldn't hide the heat. If you recall, Noem gave a very nervous-sounding giggle before claiming she hadn't heard she was on the outs. 

Of course, in the days leading up to her firing, Noem was asked even more directly about the affair rumors by the House Judiciary Committee. Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove memorably asked, "At any time during your tenure as director of Department of Homeland Security, have you had sexual relations with Corey Lewandowski?" (via @BulwarkMedia). Cue a very flustered Noem, whose husband looked on while she complained that questions about her lover were tabloid fodder. Kamlager-Dove wasn't dissuaded, though, and pressed that she should want to clear up the rumors if they were untrue. Likewise, Rep. Jared Moskowitz (who was wearing a badge saying "Justice for Cricket," a reference to the puppy Noem admitted to shooting), pointed out that instead of getting defensive, "I really think you need to say the word 'No' into the record" (via @NBCNews).

Another detail that had us thinking Kristi Noem's position was in trouble before Donald Trump announced her firing-ahem-shift-to-special-envoy? The fact that he was asked about it. Talk about unprofessionalism. 

While aboard Air Force One in February 2026, a reporter asked Trump about the affair and whether Noem would "be in the job much longer." Trump closed his eyes, shook his head, and replied, "I don't know about that. I mean, I haven't heard that ... I'll find out about it, but I have not heard of that." It's worth noting that there are a few reports that, if true, would dispute the president's comments about never having heard about it. For one, Alex Isenstadt wrote in his 2025 book "Revenge: The Inside Story of Trump's Return to Power" that "Trump referred to Noem as Lewandowski's 'girlfriend,' and when the subject came up, he would raise an eyebrow mischievously." A few days prior to denying he'd ever heard about the tryst, the New York Post also quoted a source who claimed Trump regularly told a story about the two having shared a soda in front of him. "You can't do that, it's pretty obvious ... everyone's going to know!" the source quoted the president as saying. 

We can't help but wonder if Trump spoke to Noem about the question he'd been asked on Air Force One, and if so, whether he reiterated that she and Lewandowski needed to not be quite as "obvious" going forward (or that her job may be on the line if she didn't). It certainly would explain her rarely-seen husband's random cameo in an Instagram video a few days later, and his sudden support in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Either way, it definitely didn't help those resignation rumors.

Donald Trump may have denied knowing anything about Kristi Noem's alleged affair with Corey Lewandowski and gushed about her being "great," but not everyone in the GOP was quite so enamored with her. In fact, during her oversight hearing in early March 2026, Republican Senator Thom Tillis made it very clear that he was not impressed with the former governor of South Dakota.

Tillis began his review of Noem's tenure as Secretary of Homeland Security by calling both her and Stephen Miller out for focusing primarily on numbers of deportees. "We just want numbers. We want a thousand a day. 6,000 a day. 9,000 a day, because numbers matter, right? No, they don't matter. Quality matters, not quantity. Quality," he all but yelled at Noem (via USA Today). The North Carolina senator went on to chastise, "What we've seen is a disaster. Under your leadership, Ms. Noem. A disaster. What we've seen is innocent people getting detained that turn out are American citizens."

Tillis added that he wasn't planning on giving Noem time to respond to any of his complaints, because, "I'm giving you a performance evaluation here, I'm not looking for a response. And I'm saying, Ms. Noem, that time, after time, after time, I've been disappointed." Sure enough, after he questioned her FEMA policies and she attempted to respond, he made good on his promise to evaluate her without taking responses. "No," he said, holding his hands up. "You can finish after my 10 minutes are done, and I will hold the clock until I finish," he said. Tillis ended off by calling for her to resign from her post, and demanding she respond to a list of questions he'd already sent her a month prior. Oop.

Like Thom Tillis, Louisiana's John Kennedy also asked the Secretary of Homeland Security tough questions during her oversight hearing. Unlike Tillis, his delivery gave off distinct Winnie the Pooh vibes. However, even with a softer tone, Kennedy called out what he saw as inconsistencies. 

Speaking of Noem's rule that she had to approve any DHS contracts over $5 million, Kennedy acknowledged that he, too, was concerned about saving taxpayers' money ... then politely asked, "How do you square that concern for waste ... with the fact that you have spent $220 million running television advertisements that feature you prominently?" (via C-SPAN). Welp. The Republican senator also enquired about the advertising firm hired to do the campaign, before sweetly pointing out that his research showed the strategy group the DHS had worked with had personal links to people in Noem's life, that she had hand-picked them, and that the group itself had only been established a few days before she did so. "Look, we all have friends who are qualified. I'm not quibbling with that. I'm just ... it troubles me ... a fifth to a quarter of a billion dollars of taxpayer money when we're scratching for every penny. ... I just can't agree with [that], Madam Secretary," he said. 

Kennedy then pivoted to Noem's handling of Renee Good and Alex Pretti's killings and the fact that she'd blamed Stephen Miller for the initial comments she made about them being domestic terrorists. Cue a rattled and defensive Noem, who attributed that to fake, anonymous sources. "This wasn't anonymous — it was you. ... They're quoting you on the record, saying it's Stephen's fault," Kennedy retorted, visibly amused. TBH, it probably would have been less embarrassing for Noem if she had just quit.