WASHINGTON, March 5 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump announced Thursday that he will replace Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem amid growing bipartisan frustration with Noem's leadership.
"I am pleased to announce that the Highly Respected United States Senator from the Great State of Oklahoma, Markwayne Mullin, will become the United States Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS), effective March 31, 2026," Trump said on Truth Social.
"The current Secretary, Kristi Noem, who has served us well, and has had numerous and spectacular results ... 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. I thank Kristi for her service at 'Homeland,'" he said.
The announcement, the first Cabinet shakeup since Trump's second term, came shortly after U.S. media reported that the president was considering firing Noem, who has been under bipartisan pressure after federal law enforcement officers fatally shot two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis.
Trump, already frustrated with Noem, "was incensed" by her performance this week during congressional hearings and was considering firing her, NBC News quoted lawmakers and people familiar with the discussions as saying. ■