US President Donald Trump on Thursday fired Kristi Noem as head of the Department of Homeland Security, the agency responsible for carrying out his sweeping immigration crackdown.
Trump, in a post on Truth Social, said Markwayne Mullin, 48, a Republican senator from Oklahoma, would take over the powerful department on March 31.
According to multiple media reports, Trump was upset with Noem's handling of the recent large-scale operation against undocumented migrants in Minnesota, during which federal immigration agents shot dead two Americans.
Trump was also reportedly angered by Noem's testimony at a Senate hearing this week during which she said the president had personally approved a $220 million DHS advertising campaign in which she featured prominently.
Trump said Noem, 54, would become his special envoy for a new security initiative in the Western Hemisphere he called "The Shield of the Americas" that will be announced on Saturday.
"(Noem) has served us well, and has had numerous and spectacular results (especially on the Border!)," Trump said.
He described Mullin as a "MAGA Warrior" and said he will be a "spectacular Secretary of Homeland Security."
"Markwayne will work tirelessly to Keep our Border Secure, Stop Migrant Crime, Murderers, and other Criminals from illegally entering our Country, End the Scourge of Illegal Drugs and, MAKE AMERICA SAFE AGAIN," Trump said.
Mullin's nomination will be subject to confirmation by the Senate, where Republicans hold a majority.
Trump campaigned for the White House on a pledge to remove millions of undocumented migrants from the United States and DHS is the chief enforcer of his deportation policy.
Speaking to reporters, Mullin said his focus will be "to keep the homeland secure."
"I think there's opportunities to build off successes," he said. "And there's also opportunities to build off things that maybe didn't go quite as planned."
Noem, in a post on X, thanked Trump for her new special envoy position and cited what she called "historic accomplishments" at DHS.
"We delivered the MOST secure border in American history," she said, and "three million illegal aliens have left the US."
- 'Boondoggle' -
Democratic lawmakers welcomed Noem's departure. "Good riddance," said Senate Democratic minority leader Chuck Schumer.
Senator Dick Durbin said Noem "was the face of an unpopular, illegal, and outright dangerous mass deportation campaign that claimed the lives of innocent Americans and terrorized many more."
"Even the president finally conceded she was unfit for the job," Durbin said.
Senator Adam Schiff of California said Noem "should have been fired a long time ago."
"It is telling, at the same time distressing, that what seems to have gotten her fired was her PR campaign...this $220 million boondoggle, this waste of taxpayer resources that largely promoted Kristi Noem," Schiff said.
Noem came under bipartisan criticism at Tuesday's Senate hearing.
Senator Thom Tillis, a Republican from North Carolina, called for Noem's resignation and said her leadership of DHS has been a "disaster."
Democrats repeatedly asked her to apologize for the deaths of the two Americans killed in Minnesota during protests against the immigration crackdown and for calling them "domestic terrorists."
Senator John Kennedy, a Republican from Louisiana and staunch Trump loyalist, questioned Noem about the $220 million spent by DHS on television advertising.
Noem said the advertisements had been "effective."
"They were effective in your name recognition," Kennedy shot back.
Noem is the first member of Trump's cabinet to be fired since he took office. Trump's former national security adviser, Mike Waltz, was ousted last year over his involvement in a Signal chat in which sensitive information was shared with a journalist.
Noem's firing comes amid a partial shutdown at DHS.
Democrats oppose any new funding for DHS until major changes are implemented to how the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency conducts its operations.
They have demanded curtailed patrols, a ban on ICE agents wearing face masks and a requirement that they obtain a judicial warrant before entering private property.
MAGA partisan, ex-MMA fighter
Senator Markwayne Mullin is a burly former wrestler, a mixed martial arts fighter and a staunch supporter of President Donald Trump.
A member of the Cherokee Nation, the 48-year-old Republican senator from the central state of Oklahoma is currently the only Native American serving in the US Senate.
Mullin was elected to the Senate in 2022 after serving 10 years in the US House of Representatives.
Trump, in announcing Mullin's nomination to head DHS, called him a "MAGA Warrior" -- a reference to the Republican president's Make America Great Again movement.
Trump also referenced Mullin's brief foray into mixed martial arts, where he had a 5-0 record as a professional MMA fighter.
- Wrestler turned businessman -
A wrestler during his school years, Mullin was inducted into the Oklahoma Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2016.
Mullin grew up on a ranch in Oklahoma and dropped out of college at the age of 20 to take over the family's plumbing business when his father fell ill, according to his official Senate biography.
He expanded Mullin Plumbing and ventured into a variety of other businesses, including opening a steakhouse in the town of Stilwell.
Mullin replaces former South Dakota governor Kristi Noem as head of DHS, the agency tasked with carrying out the president's sweeping immigration crackdown.
"Markwayne will work tirelessly to Keep our Border Secure, Stop Migrant Crime, Murderers, and other Criminals from illegally entering our Country, End the Scourge of Illegal Drugs and, MAKE AMERICA SAFE AGAIN," Trump said in a Truth Social post announcing his nomination.
In a post on X, Mullin thanked the president for the nomination.
"President Trump ran on restoring law and order, and he quickly delivered the most secure US border in American history," Mullin said. "I look forward to supporting @POTUS' mission to safeguard the American people and defend the homeland."
Trump, in his Truth Social post, also pointed to Mullin's Native American heritage, saying he would be a "fantastic advocate for our incredible Tribal Communities."
Mullin will need confirmation from the Republican-majority Senate to take up his post and at least one Democratic senator has already said that he will vote for him.
Senate Democratic minority leader Chuck Schumer signaled his opposition, however.
"I've been asked if I would support Sen. Mullin as Noem's replacement," Schumer said on X. "The answer is a resounding NO."
"The rot in DHS is deep, much deeper than any individual. It's a question of policy not personnel," he said.
Mullin and his wife, Christie, have six children.