JD Vance addressed the many rumours and reports surrounding the reason for Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s exit. At an event in North Carolina on Friday, the Vice President dismissed the many media claims circulating and said they are “far from the truth.”
Kristi Noem was not exactly name-checked during the media interaction. A reporter actually asked Vance, “We heard from Gov. Josh Stein several times that North Carolina has only gotten a fraction of what other states have gotten in federal funding for recovery for both communities?”
Vance: A lot of people in the media said that the reason we made a change at DHS is because we are backing off of our illegal immigration policy. That couldn’t be further from the truth. The reason is because Kristi Noem has a great opportunity to serve in this Shield of Americas… pic.twitter.com/pH0HC67cEO
— Acyn (@Acyn) March 13, 2026
In his response, JD Vance gave a shout-out to Republican Senate candidate Michael Whatley and said, “He obviously is a Republican. He’s committed to the conservative agenda. I’m aligned with him politically. But he’s not afraid to say to me or to the President of the United States or anybody else, we’ve got to get these resources out faster to protect the people of North Carolina.”
Addressing the many media theories that Kristi Noem’s DHS exit was due to a shift in immigration policy, and dismissing them, Vance explained at the event that the change was due to Noem’s new role, headlining Shield of Americas.
“We recognize, frankly, that we needed the new leadership to hasten that delivery of resources to the people of North Carolina. A lot of people in the media have said that, you know, the reason why we made a change at DHS is because the Trump administration is backing off of its illegal immigration enforcement policy,” Vance clarified to the media.
He continued that all the claims “couldn’t be further from the truth.” Vance added, “The reason that we’re making this change is because Kristi Noem has a great opportunity to serve in this new Shield of the Americas position.”
Earlier, Trump acknowledged Kristi Noem and her new role in a Truth Social post.He mentioned that Oklahoma Senator Markwayne Mullin will be replacing Kristi Noem. He will take charge on March 31.
“The current Secretary, Kristi Noem, who has served us well and has achieved numerous spectacular results, especially on the border, will be moving to be Special Envoy for the Shield of the Americas, our new security initiative in the Western Hemisphere that we are announcing on Saturday in Doral, Florida.” He added, “I thank Kristi for her service at Homeland,” Donald Trump’s statement read.
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) March 5, 2026
Announcing her exit from the department earlier this month, Noem wrote in an X post, “Thank you, President Trump for appointing me as the Special Envoy for the Shield of the Americas.”
She also acknowledged Secretary Marco Rubio and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth in her X post, describing them as “incredible leaders.” She added, “I look forward to working with them closely to dismantle cartels that have poured drugs into our nation and killed our children and grandchildren.”
About her new role as Special Envoy for the Shield of the Americas, Noem wrote, “The Western Hemisphere is absolutely critical for U.S. security. In this new role, I will be able to build on the partnerships and national security expertise I forged over the last 13 months as Secretary of Homeland Security.”
