Noem defends her leadership of DHS amid sharp questioning from senators

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem was forced to defend herself Tuesday from a host of questions about her leadership of the Department of Homeland Security — including some of her sharpest criticism from Republicans to date.

In her first appearance before Congress since immigration officers shot and killed two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis in January, Noem faced pointed questions from Sens. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) and John Kennedy (R-La.), as well as Democrats, on the Senate Judiciary Committee about her management of the department.

Kennedy’s questioning was particularly notable because the Louisiana Republican has not been a consistent critic of Noem. He pressed her on comments she made calling 37-year-old Alex Pretti and Renee Good “domestic terrorists” after immigration officers shot and killed them in Minneapolis in January.

“What got my attention was you blamed your ‘domestic terrorist’ statements on Stephen Miller,” Kennedy said.

Noem responded: “Where you saw that was in a news article of anonymous sources, and they say a lot of things. But I never said that.”

Kennedy then proceeded to read the quote out to her and then tell her twice that it was an on the record quote in a Jan. 27 news article.

Kennedy also pushed the secretary to respond to accusations that she spent hundreds of millions of dollars on television ads that seemed primarily focused on raising her personal profile.

When Noem argued Trump approved the ads and added they were effective, Kennedy shot back that they were “effective in your name recognition.”

“I’m not saying you’re not telling the truth, it’s just hard for me to believe,” he continued. He asked Noem to acknowledge reports that she funneled those funds to firms that worked with her back in South Dakota. Noem said those reports were incorrect.

Such questioning highlights growing Republican frustration with Noem. While many Republicans defended Noem in the hearing and focused their questions on the administration’s accomplishments, criticism of Noem among members of the president’s party has increased over the last few months.

Tillis, who has called for Noem to leave her post, lashed Noem on a litany of issues, including her approach to disbursing FEMA funds and her department’s approach to meeting the president’s ambitious target for deportations. He also threatened to hold up Senate business if she did not respond to his office’s inquiries about a recent immigration enforcement crackdown in his state.

“What we've seen is a disaster. Under your leadership, Ms. Noem, a disaster,” Tillis said.

Senate Judiciary Chair Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), while otherwise very conciliatory in his questioning, asked Noem whether special government employees at the department were complying with rules that limit the number of days they can work.

The question from Grassley seemed to hint at concerns that her adviser Corey Lewandowski has skirted the restrictions that prevent special government employees from working without scrutiny.

Noem, who did sound slightly more nervous answering that question than she did at other points, said that the proper policies are being followed.

Overall, Noem stuck to her points, at times admitting DHS made mistakes as she mostly kept her cool in responding to senators’ questions. Even as Tillis and Kennedy hit her with tough questions, her face betrayed little anger, displeasure or frustration.

She tried to consistently bring back the conversation to her main argument — that the Trump administration has kept its promise to the American people to “restore” a secure border after lapses under the Biden administration. She also urged Congress to fully fund her department, which remains unfunded amid the partial government shutdown.

The hearing, the first of two consecutive days of testimony from Noem before congressional committees this week, comes as Democrats and some Republicans call for changes to practices at Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection, including new guidelines around immigration officers’ use of masks in the field and training requirements.

Noem and many Republicans on the panel argued that Democrats are holding her department “hostage” and that the shutdown threatened to “critically strain” national security operations at DHS, including border security and cybersecurity.

“The latest Democrat-led shutdown of DHS is reckless, it's unnecessary, and it undermines American national security and it harms the men and women who work at DHS and their families,” Noem said.

Other Republicans largely applauded Noem’s efforts, asking her questions that allowed her to justify the administration’s approach to immigration enforcement and argue that DHS needs to be funded in light of U.S. military operations against Iran.

Democrats, meanwhile, pinned the challenges at DHS squarely on Noem, who they cast as a uniquely incompetent leader atop a sprawling agency. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, lashed Noem in his opening statement, saying that “under your leadership, the Homeland Security Department has been devoid of any moral compass or respect for the rule of law.”

They peppered Noem with questions about specific cases of ICE and Border Patrol misconduct, tasking Noem with reviewing individual cases that contradicted her statements that immigration enforcement. And Noem also faced questions from Democrats about reports she planned on purchasing “luxury” jets for the department’s use.

“What kind of deportee justifies being flown out of the country in a luxury jet?” Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) asked with an image of a bedroom on the jet blown up on an exhibit behind him.

“The dollars for these airplanes was appropriated by Congress. In fact, it’s mandated from Congress and rules you’ve given us that we need a long-range command and control aircraft that will seat up to 17 people for national security purposes,” Noem responded.

In response to the questions, Noem insisted DHS and its immigration agencies comply with court orders and argued the agencies were being villainized for enforcing existing U.S. laws.

The DHS chief also went on the offensive at times too, in one instance trying to catch Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) off guard by mentioning the name of an individual in the senator’s state murdered by an undocumented immigrant.