DHS Secretary Kristi Noem has stepped down from her position and has been reassigned to a new role as “Special Envoy for the Shield of the Americas.”
Donald Trump took to Truth Social and wrote, “Noem will be moving to serve as Special Envoy for the Shield of the Americas, our new security initiative in the Western Hemisphere, which we are announcing Saturday in Doral, Florida.”
The South Dakota native was grilled by both Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill two days after which Trump announced her exit. The 79-year-old president said he plans to nominate Oklahoma Republican Sen. Markwayne Mullin as her replacement. He will officially take over after March 31.
Soon after, Donald Trump’s top counterterrorism official, Joe Kent, reportedly created turmoil among White House officials by resigning. The news caught many off guard as it was announced on government letterhead. On Monday night, Kent announced his resignation, citing concerns over the U.S.-Israel war on Iran.
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People are now wondering if someone else will take her place. Trump announced the decision on Truth Social after people questioned her leadership in recent months.
Noem’s exit received mixed reactions, but, according to PBS News, it marks the first Cabinet-level departure of Trump’s second term. Meanwhile, new questions are being raised about the future of another key Cabinet member, Tulsi Gabbard.
Former Fox News host Bill O’Reilly recently suggested that the eighth Director of National Intelligence, Gabbard, could be the next official to leave after Kristi Noem.
Speaking on NewsNation on March 18, the host claimed she has “lost all credibility” with Trump and may not remain in her role much longer. Former Democratic candidate Tulsi Gabbard is the second woman of color to earn primary delegate roles in the United States.
“She has lost all credibility with Donald Trump,” conservative commentator O’Reilly said, according to The Daily Beast. “Now, why she’s still there, I don’t know. She won’t be there much longer.”
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The 76-year-old broadcast journalist, who often appears on NewsNation to offer his perspective on political issues, claimed that when Tulsi Gabbard opposed Donald Trump’s strikes on Venezuela in January under Operation Absolute Resolve, her efforts came to nothing, and Trump was not happy with her old comment that resurfaced.
His planning reportedly led to a win for the United States when President Nicolás Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores were taken from Caracas on January 3 and flown to New York, where they appeared in court.
This operation has fueled debate about Trump’s intentions and the future of Venezuela. He stated that the United States would “run” Venezuela and emphasized control of the country’s oil resources.
However, according to CBS Austin, Tulsi Gabbard’s past comments on Venezuela seem to have put her position in jeopardy. In 2019, as a Democratic candidate, she strongly opposed U.S. involvement, warning that the operation could lead to legal implications and other serious consequences.
Meanwhile, reports claimed that because of her past comments, Gabbard was left out of important planning discussions related to the operation. Some White House aides even joked that her title, Director of National Intelligence (DNI), stood for “Do Not Invite,” though a White House official denied that such a comment was made.
Tulsi Gabbard has supported the administration’s position on Operation Epic Fury after the U.S. and Israel launched airstrikes on Iran on February 28, but her past opinions show something different.
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Tulsi Gabbard has also come under scrutiny following her testimony before a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing, where she avoided directly answering whether Iran posed an immediate nuclear threat to the U.S.
Instead, she said, “The only person who can determine what is and is not an imminent threat is the president, and he made that determination.”
