At the swearing-in ceremony of Markwayne Mullin as the ninth Secretary of Homeland Security, President Donald Trump was asked a question about Kristi Noem, who held the role before Mullin. Trump dodged the question and went on to praise White House Border Czar Tom Homan.
At Mullin’s White House swearing-in ceremony, a reporter asked Trump a question. “Do you believe the Secretary will run DHS differently than Kristi Noem did?” the reporter asked the President. “We had a good run, we created the strongest board with the help of that man right there,” Trump said, referring to Homan.
Reporter: Do you believe the Secretary run DHS differently than Kristi Noem did?
Trump: We had a good run, we created the strongest board with the help of that man right there. Tom is so incredible. There’s nobody better as a human being. He’s got a good heart but don’t make it… pic.twitter.com/bc3uQ88s4h
— Acyn (@Acyn) March 24, 2026
He continued, “Tom is so incredible. He is going to be a big influence. There’s nobody more professional and better as a human being. He looks tough, but he’s got a good heart, but not too good. Don’t make it too good.” Trump continued during the ceremony, “We have Tom, we have the safest border we have ever had. We have a lot of assets. A lot of things we can do, we will do. We have to get criminals out of our country.”
Mullin, during his speech as the new DHS Secretary, said, “I don’t care what color your state is. I don’t care if you’re red or you’re blue. At the end of the day, my job is to be Secretary of Homeland and to protect everybody the same—and we will do that.”
.@SecMullinDHS speaks upon swearing in as the 9th Secretary of @DHSgov: “I don’t care what color your state is. I don’t care if you’re red or you’re blue. At the end of the day, my job is to be Secretary of Homeland and to protect everybody the same—and we will do that.” pic.twitter.com/k5jGyZzKvn
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) March 24, 2026
Meanwhile, Kristi Noem shared an extensive note, signing off from the DHS post. She began by thanking President Trump. “It has been an honor and a privilege to serve as the 8th Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security,” wrote Noem.
Noem, who will be serving as a Special Envoy for the Shield of the Americas, continued in her post, “I want to thank President Trump for entrusting me to lead the department leading the fight to Make America Safe Again. In one year, the patriots at DHS delivered the MOST secure border in American history, 3 million illegal aliens have left the U.S., located 145,000 unaccompanied children, delivered disaster relief at a 100% faster rate, ushered in the golden age of travel, saved the American taxpayer $13 billion, and revitalized the U.S. Coast Guard.”
Noem signed off her statement with these words, “As Special Envoy for the Shield of the Americas, I will build on the years of national security expertise I forged during my time as Secretary of Homeland Security, Governor of South Dakota, and Congresswoman on the House Armed Services Committee.”
It has been an honor and a privilege to serve as the 8th Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security.
I want to thank President Trump for entrusting me to lead the department leading the fight to Make America Safe Again. In one year, the patriots at DHS delivered the MOST…
— Kristi Noem (@KristiNoem) March 24, 2026
Markwayne Mullin takes charge as the DHS Secretary amid the ongoing partial shutdown. During the White House ceremony on Tuesday, Trump brought up the current situation at DHS and blamed the Democrats for the shutdown.
“The Department that Markwayne Mullin takes over today is currently shut down by Radical Left Democrat thugs in Congress who have blocked all funding for DHS because they’re trying to shield illegal alien criminals… Just in the past few days, we’ve seen the horrifying consequences of Democrats’ deadly open border extremism,” said Donald Trump.
While welcoming Mullin on board, Trump said, “It’s a great day for me because I have a lot of confidence in this gentleman. We’re thrilled to swear in our new Secretary of Homeland Security, a great American patriot, to put it mildly.”
