https://mothership.sg/2026/03/trump-fires-noem/

But The Atlantic reports a more prosaic reason for her removal: she may have tried to “outshine Trump”.

Trump fires ICE head Kristi Noem after S$280 million ad controversy, replaces her with ex-MMA fighter

ICEd.

Tan Min-Wei

March 06, 2026, 01:35 PM

U.S. President Donald Trump has fired the U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, who oversaw his anti-immigration campaign and was most notably in charge of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Noem has been given a new role as Special Envoy to Trump’s Western Hemisphere security initiative, “Shield of the Americas”.

Worst of the worst

Noem’s firing in all but name comes as criticism of her mounts.

She has been notoriously aggressive in carrying out Trump’s campaign promise to combat immigration, which has seen U.S. citizens, children as young as five, and legal immigrants caught up in Noem’s campaign.

Far from being apologetic, Noem has revelled in the role, her official social media filled with picture after picture of the “worst of the worst”: illegal immigrants caught up in crime.

She has defied attempts to rein her in and was regularly accused of deporting immigrants without due process, sometimes in defiance of court orders not to do so.

These tactics earned her praise from Trump and his supporters, but stoked the ire of his opponents, and resulted in massive anti-ICE street protests, notably in states like Minnesota, where ICE agents shot and killed two U.S. citizens.

Opposition to her enforcement tactics has culminated in the Department of Homeland Security being in partial shutdown, as Democrats refuse to fund it in protest and demand Noem’s removal.

Outshine Trump?

But The Atlantic reports a more prosaic reason for her removal: she may have tried to “outshine Trump”.

When entering the role in January 2025, Noem is alleged to have initiated a publicity campaign to encourage immigrants to “self-deport”, putting her at the centre of attention.

The campaign is said to have cost the U.S. taxpayer US$220 million (S$280 million), and when questioned about it by lawmakers on Mar. 3, she said that the spending had been approved by Trump.

But Republican senator John Kennedy disputed this, saying that the ads were “effective in your name recognition” but put Trump in “a terribly awkward spot” and that Noem’s and Trump’s “versions of the truth are decidedly different”.

Another Republican senator, Thom Tillis, simply called her leadership a "disaster".

An anonymous member of the administration blamed her firing on the “culmination of many unfortunate failures” that "overshadowed and distracted from the Administration’s extremely popular immigration agenda”.

MAGA Warrior

Noem’s removal and replacement were announced in the same Truth Social post by Trump on Mar. 5.

Trump was cordial, thanking Noem and saying she “served us well”, and crediting her for “numerous and spectacular results”.

Image via Truth Social

Her replacement will be U.S. Senator Markwayne Mullin, a Republican Senator from Oklahoma, who was a businessman and radio talk show host before entering politics.

Trump described Mullin as a “MAGA warrior” and “undefeated professional MMA fighter”, who would “work tirelessly to Keep our Border Secure" [sic].

Mullin was overwhelmingly elected in a 2022 special election, and his appointment will trigger another special election in November 2026, albeit in a fairly safe Republican seat.

Top image via Kristi Noem/IG