Democrat lawmakers want Pam Bondi to criminally investigate Kristi Noem. They want her to see if Noem committed perjury during sworn testimony before Congress in early March. According to CNBC, Senator Dick Durbin and Representative Jamie Raskin officially referred the case to the Justice Department. They want to know if Noem lied to Congress.
Noem’s testimony sparked the referral letter to Bondi. Noem had answered questions about immigration enforcement and the controversial Homeland Security ad campaign. Durbin and Raskin believe that some of Noem’s statements might violate federal law. In their letter to Bondi, they say a number of her statements seemed to cross the line into perjury.
Their complaint mostly focuses on what Noem said about DHS following court orders on immigration detention. Noem said her department hadn’t broken any orders. Durbin and Raskin don’t agree.
In her testimony before the House and Senate, @Sec_Noem told brazen lies about what’s taking place at DHS. That’s why today, @SenatorDurbin and I are officially referring her to the DOJ to be investigated for perjury related to DHS chaos and dysfunction, an offense with a 5-year…
— Rep. Jamie Raskin (@RepRaskin) March 16, 2026
Durbin and Raskin say her statement goes against court records. They have reports showing that detainees weren’t always released when they were supposed to be. They wrote that DHS has ignored court orders to release people from ICE detention holding them past the date required by court.
The referral also questions how Noem handled information about a $220 million advertising campaign. It was meant to promote DHS’ immigration position. Lawmakers plan to give Bondi copies of Noem’s testimony, including what she said about how she was given the campaign contract and the bidding process behind it.
And Noem’s comments about conditions in immigrant detention centers and if U.S. citizens were ever mistakenly held during immigration sweeps are suspect. Raskin and Durbin are also questioning that.
Not long after those hearings, President Trump removed Noem from her job as Homeland Security Secretary. She is now what JD Vance calls a “great position” at Shield of Americas.
Trump then picked Oklahoma Senator Markwayne Mullin to take over DHS. Mullin will go before the Senate this week for his confirmation hearing. There is no guarantee that there will be an investigation just because Congress sent a referral. It only shows what lawmakers think what federal laws might have been broken.
Sen. Dick Durbin and Rep. Jamie Raskin, the top Democrats on the House and Senate Judiciary Committees, are calling on Pam Bondi to investigate whether departing DHS Secretary Kristi Noem lied under oath before Congress.
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) March 16, 2026
Durbin and Raskin acknowledged this in their referral to the DOJ. But, they made it clear that the crimes they’re pointing to, perjury and lying to Congress, carry a five-year statute of limitations.
They also called out what they see as the Justice Department’s political bias. They wrote, “While we have low expectations that you will pursue this matter given your partisan weaponization of the Department of Justice, we note that the statute of limitations for perjury and for knowingly and willfully making false statements to Congress is five years.”
A Homeland Security spokesperson spoke out. When asked about the charges, they said that any claim Noem committed perjury. “is categorically false.”
The Democrats and Noem will have to wait for Bondi’s decision to pursue investigation or not. As of yet, the DOJ has remained silent.
