(File Photo: Source for Photo: Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem appears for an oversight hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, at the Capitol in Washington, March 3, 2026. (AP Photo/ J. Scott Applewhite, File)

(Washington, D.C. – AP) Donald Trump has fired his embattled Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. He made the announcement Thursday. He also said he’ll nominate Oklahoma Republican Sen. Markwayne Mullin to replace her. Trump made the announcement on social media, two days after Noem faced a grilling on Capitol Hill from GOP members as well as Democrats. Trump says he’ll make Noem a “Special Envoy for The Shield of the Americas,” a new security initiative that he said would focus on the Western Hemisphere. Noem is the first Cabinet secretary to leave during Trump’s second term. Noem’s departure caps a tumultuous tenure overseeing immigration enforcement tactics that have been met with protests and lawsuits.