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Sen. Markwayne Mullin to Replace Noem as DHS Secretary. Aired 2-2:30p ET

Aired March 05, 2026 - 14:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

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[14:00:39]

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CO-ANCHOR OF "CNN NEWS CENTRAL": We're following some Breaking News that is really going to change what you see in that TSA line when you go to the airport, right? President Trump says he's replacing Homeland Security Secretary, Kristi Noem. He's going to nominate Oklahoma Senator, Markwayne Mullin to take her spot.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN CO-ANCHOR OF "CNN NEWS CENTRAL": We have live team coverage on this story. Let's start at the White House with CNN's Kristen Holmes. Kristen, what are you hearing from sources about what ultimately led to the tipping point? What ultimately led Trump to make this decision?

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Boris and Brianna, just so you know, we're actually waiting to see if Noem actually comes out for this event she was supposed to have in Nashville. We're monitoring it very closely. It's supposed to start in any minute, so we'll obviously keep you guys briefed on that.

Now, what I heard from a number of sources was that President Trump and really Republicans in the Hill, outside allies, had grown increasingly frustrated with Kristi Noem. There was obviously what we saw in Minneapolis. We saw her being moved off of that, back to the border. Tom Homan was brought in to replace her.

But ultimately, the catalyst for all of this was President Trump growing enraged after these Senate Judiciary hearings, particularly at this exchange that Noem had with Republican Senator, Kennedy. During this exchange, she said that President Trump had signed off on a $200 million ad campaign that was essentially her ad campaign, her talking to camera, encouraging people who are in this country illegally to self-deport.

President Trump started calling members on Capitol Hill, basically saying that he was considering firing her, floating names, and that he had never actually approved that or signed off on that ad campaign. That was something that he then took public. He said it in an interview with a Reuters reporter, that he never signed off, that he knew nothing about that. And here is what he then posted on Truth Social.

"I am pleased to announce that the highly respected United States Senator from the great state of Oklahoma, Markwayne Mullin, will become the United States Secretary of Homeland Security effective March 31st, 2026. The current Secretary, Kristi Noem, who has served us well and has had numerous and spectacular results, especially on the border, will be moving on 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."

Clearly, this position didn't exist. It's something that they made as kind of an off-ramp for Noem. But the reason why this is such a big deal is that this is not the first administration of Donald Trump. This is not a revolving door. And President Trump has been keenly aware of that. So has Chief of Staff, Susie Wiles.

OK, there she is. And we can see her there right now. So she has taken the stage there. We'll see if she addresses this new position that she has as the Special Envoy of the Shield of Americas. I'm just listening for a second to see if she was going to bring it up. It doesn't seem like she's leading with it right now.

But this is a big deal. Chief of Staff, Susie Wiles had not wanted to have any kind of shuffling of the staff because they didn't want it to look like they were out of control, that this was, again, a revolving door like the first term. But clearly, President Trump had grown so angry and dissatisfied with Noem that he decided it was time to fire her. And this is really just the second high-profile departure we've had in the last over a year-and-a-half.

The first, of course, being Mike Waltz when he was ousted as National Security Advisor. But this is -- he was not in a cabinet position. This is the first cabinet removal that we have seen in the second term.

SANCHEZ: Kristen, please stand by as we await to see whether now former DHS Secretary, Kristi Noem addresses her transition to the Special Envoy for the Shield of the Americas. This is in Nashville, Tennessee. These are live images, by the way, so we'll be monitoring her remarks.

Jeff Zeleny, to you, what do you make of this news?

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, look, it's an extraordinary turn of events because we know that Kristen was saying there, loyalty is very important to the president. He wants to -- you know, that's one of the biggest differences. He's not fired really anyone in this.

But I think that she crossed a line very clearly in terms of, one, she said in the hearing to the Senators that the president approved of this massive ad campaign. The president told Reuters that he did not. So that is one violation there. But also, this is a political benefit for President Trump. Immigration was a strength of the president. It is now a massive political weakness.

Heading into the midterm election campaign, the president getting rid of Kristi Noem certainly is something of -- it is relieving the pressure and the endless drip, drip, drip about questions about immigration.

[14:05:00]

And by saying he's nominating a Senator, Senators almost always get confirmed for positions. We don't know that, of course. There'll be a long, drawn-out confirmation process, questions about the mission of the Department of Homeland Security. But Senator Markwayne Mullin is respected by both sides of the aisle.

So very interesting that he is nominating the Senator as well, but the president effectively wanting to put a political problem on the side.

KEILAR: Yeah, it's really interesting. And if we could bring in Manu to talk about this, because even though, Manu, I think he has his best shot here, nominating a Senator, it's for a position that is so embattled in its own right and wrapped up in the policy.

It's not just Kristi Noem, right? This is the policy of President Trump. And Senator Mullin has been a stalwart supporter, champion of Trump's policies. You know, I know it's early yet, but how do you see this going?

MANU RAJU, CNN ANCHOR & CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, he has defended Trump on pretty much every issue under the sun, no matter how controversial. Markwayne Mullin has been there to defend Donald Trump and is undoubtedly one of his most unflinchingly loyal allies here in the Capitol. So that hearing, when that happens before the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee, will probably be heated at times.

But Mullin, as Jeff was pointing out, does have relationships on both sides of the aisle, some good relationships with Democrats as well. And he is well-liked among Republican Senators and there are some Republican Senators and Democratic Senators who are now looked favorably upon by their colleagues. But that's not the case with Mullin, who does have good relationships in a body where relationships are so, so critical, which all means that his chances of confirmation are very, very high. Unless there's something significant slip up between now and then, you can almost rest assured that he will get that position.

But yes, indeed, this comes, and they had a politically fraught time for this agency, which, of course, is shut down right now amid this battle between Democrats and the White House over the president's deployment of ICE agents across the country. Democrat demands for changing how ICE officers are being used, everything from requiring them to take off masks, to wear body cameras, to changing how they are going about getting warrants for enforcing these immigration actions, none of which the White House has agreed to, at least from what the Democrats are demanding, which is why this government agency is shut down.

So, how will Markwayne Mullin approach this if in fact the shutdown is still happening by the time he goes before the Senate for his confirmation hearings? That will be one big question. But at the moment, a lot of Republicans, including one of the Republican, the biggest critics of Kristi Noem, Thom Tillis, just told reporters that he is very much in favor of Markwayne Mullin getting this position. And Tillis was one of the few Republicans who went as far as saying that Noem should resign and resign immediately. So a sign that the Republican support will be there, and perhaps some Democrats too. Guys?

SANCHEZ: Manu, please stand by. Just to let our viewers know, Noem is actually speaking right now live in Nashville, and we've been monitoring her remarks. She's apparently been talking about the history of DHS, but she's not directly addressed this news that Trump has ousted her as its Secretary. Let's go to Priscilla Alvarez now.

And Priscilla, you have a lot of sources at DHS. I understand that they shared some colorful thoughts with you about this news.

PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, multiple officials are stunned by this news. Not so much because these officials had a lot of confidence in the secretary and her management in the department, but rather because this happened so quickly after these two congressional hearings which, as you heard from Kristen, was the catalyst to the president making this decision.

Look, the officials that I have been speaking with over the last year have raised multiple concerns over the way that the secretary was managing the department, and not only her, but her Chief Adviser, Corey Lewandowski, who was serving as a special government employee. In other words, he was supposed to be there on a temporary basis. I had one Homeland Security official who just hours ago, as we were talking about the secretary, told me this, quote, "People are tired of their shit. Honestly, it's been unreal."

And that captures what I have been hearing from so many officials over the last several months in a department, by the way, that under the first Trump administration had experienced a lot of turnover. They had multiple secretaries serving in acting capacities during the first Trump administration.

Of course, this is a department that is charged with the president's campaign promise of mass deportation. So, the department has really pivoted all of its might toward immigration. And that has caused frustration within the department, but it's always been clear to the officials who have been there that whoever was leading the department had a tall task because it is a department charged with this responsibility.

[14:10:00]

And for that reason, the way the secretary was handling the department, especially with Minneapolis in the wake of the shootings of two U.S. citizens who were fatally shot by federal agents, they were just shocked by the way that the secretary handled those initial moments. Remember, she called them a domestic terrorist.

She was asked to apologize this week by lawmakers. She maintained her stance and instead extended her condolences. But it was all of these missteps as these officials saw it that they believed was going to ultimately lead to her ouster. The question, however, was when or if that was going to happen, given the president's public confidence that he had expressed about the secretary.

But now, as we know, he has made the decision to ouster, to place her in another position, in the meantime, to have the Senator to serve as the secretary. So currently, officials are talking amongst themselves and trying to game out what happens next year, what this means for them, some of whom recall this vividly from the first Trump administration when multiple secretaries were ousted.

KEILAR: Yeah. And Priscilla, there were just so many moments that were terrible for her coming out of these hearing days, from the taxpayer money to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars being used on an ad campaign. And she was challenged, obviously, by the Republican Senator over that.

But this luxury plane issue, right, where she was asked, they tried to pin her down on this. We've sort of seen pictures of it. And there's a bedroom in it. And she was asked about that. And she just was saying that it was being reconfigured.

ALVAREZ: Yeah.

KEILAR: But it seemed kind of apparent by what she was saying that actually, indeed, this is a pretty nice plane. It's got a bedroom in it. There was the blankie incident that came up. I mean, there were just so many moments.

ALVAREZ: Well, and just to provide context here, remember, this is the Department of Homeland Security that got a historic cash infusion. This was from last year when Congress passed that One Big, Beautiful Bill giving billions of dollars to this department. And so, with all of that, the question was, how will she distribute those funds? And that is the scrutiny that she was under because of the planes that were purchased, that the department said were going to be retrofitted.

But as you mentioned, these were luxury jets. In addition to that, it was not only the other funds that they were doling out for, for example, that ad campaign that was filmed last year, but also, she had a rule that she had to sign off on contracts that were over $100,000. And as you know, the federal government often operates with higher costs than $100,000.

So that was slowing down a lot of contracts. And that in and of itself was creating frustration not only internally in the department, but also with all of the vendors that they work with who were trying to submit for these contracts and to be part of this deportation campaign the president was embarking on.

But then in addition to that, you mentioned the blanket. To fill in viewers, there has been and this is something that she had to answer to this past week, allegations of a romantic relationship with her Chief Adviser, Corey Lewandowski. She refuted that to be the case. She was asked about it, particularly during the House hearing yesterday, but it was those concerns too over the relationship she shared with her Chief Adviser, who again was only supposed to be there on a temporary basis as a special government employee and wielded enormous power and influence over the department.

I have heard multiple stories of people being fired at Lewandowski -- Corey Lewandowski's whim. And so when you take this in totality, both the amount of money that the department was given, how it was distributed, and the various concerns and frustrations over how the secretary and her chief adviser were handling that, it led to this moment and is why homeland security officials I've been speaking with are stunned that the president announced this, but not so surprised that it ultimately came to be this way.

SANCHEZ: Priscilla Alvarez, thank you so much for that reporting. As we take a quick break following this Breaking News that president Trump is replacing former DHS Secretary, Kristi Noem with Senator Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma. We are monitoring her remarks live in Nashville. Our understanding is that she has not yet addressed this news. If she does, we'll of course bring it to you live. We'll continue following the story in just moments. Don't go anywhere.

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[14:17:12]

SANCHEZ: Let's take you now live to Nashville, Tennessee, where the soon-to-be former DHS Secretary, Kristi Noem is taking questions from the audience. Let's listen.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Inaudible).

KRISTI NOEM, OUTGOING HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: Right.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (inaudible).

NOEM: No.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (inaudible).

NOEM: Yeah, no, I think that's great advice. I don't know if you guys heard that question, but he talked about targeted enforcement and Rob (ph)was saying how it's much more effective in a lot of, especially these sanctuary cities, where we can work on targeting those individuals who have a criminal history besides their legal status that may be in violation of their visa or work permit, but that we work on those and make sure we're going out and doing that with the local law enforcement as much as we possibly can.

And that is something that we are going to continue to do and make sure that we're focusing and prioritizing those individuals and make sure that we're addressing the public safety threats there. Thank you.

Yes, sir?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (inaudible).

NOEM: OK, let me visit with him about it. That'd be great. Well, we're talking about doing some other tax benefits for other, so that may be something we could wrap into that conversation. Great idea. Perfect.

Yes, sir?

CHRIS GALLIGAN, VICE PRESIDENT, SAN FRANCISCO POLICE OFFICERS ASSOCIATION: Good afternoon, Madam Secretary. My name is Chris Galligan. I'm the Vice President of San Francisco Police Officers Association. First of all, I just want to say thank you for recognizing major cities and all of our police unions here across the nation. It means a great deal for you to be here today. So thank you for that.

My question. Local officers have increasingly been on the front lines of Homeland Security, yet we are still funded and staffed like a city responsibility, not a national one. How will DHS ensure local agencies aren't carrying federal priorities on local budgets and with local staffing?

NOEM: So, you maybe have some challenges --

KEILAR: You're listening to outgoing DHS Secretary, Kristi Noem, who has been ousted from that role, soon to be effective, by President Trump and is going to be replaced, we have learned, by President Trump posting on social media that Oklahoma Senator, Markwayne Mullin is going to take over that role. Our Lauren Fox is live for us from Capitol Hill. And Lauren, you just spoke with Senator Mullin. What can you tell us?

LAUREN FOX, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, it was really brief. He got out of his Jeep and was headed back into the United States Senate to vote. He left this chamber just a short time ago. And somewhere between that moment and him coming back, he believes that that is when he got the news.

[14:20:00]

He told reporters that he learned just a little bit before we all did, a.k.a. before that Truth Social post, that he had been tapped for this job. He said that he still wants to have further conversations with the president. We repeatedly asked him, are you interested in this job? Are you excited about this job? He said that he just wasn't ready to comment at this moment.

But obviously, this is really fast and developing very quickly up here on Capitol Hill. This morning, he was obviously pretty relaxed up here. It wasn't clear exactly that this is the moment we were headed toward. It's also important to note that it seems that the president had been entertaining this idea for a few days.

We also spoke with Senator John Kennedy, who had that series of very tough questions for Secretary Noem earlier this week during the hearing. And he said he gave the administration a heads-up on Sunday that he was going to ask this series of tough questions. Then he had a subsequent conversation with the president after the hearing.

And during that conversation, Kennedy said that the president asked him what he thought about Mullin in this role. So, how long the president was thinking about this is unclear, but he at least was entertaining the idea with Senator John Kennedy a few days ago. But, again, we just caught up with Senator Mullin, and it is not clear exactly what his view is on this job. I think it's moving just really quickly, even for the Senator.

SANCHEZ: Lauren Fox, thank you so much for that update from Capitol Hill. Let's discuss this with John Sandweg. He's a former ICE Acting Director under President Obama. John, thanks so much for joining us. I wonder, first, if you could sort of reflect on where the agency is right now, because we're in the middle of this shutdown. And now, you've got a bipartisan push, essentially, as you saw this week, to get the secretary out.

The president seemingly reacting to some of what he heard on Capitol Hill, given her testimony, and now there's a transition. And Kristi Noem will soon leave, and there will be a confirmation process for Senator Markwayne Mullin. Where do you think that leaves the people who work at DHS?

JOHN SANDWEG, FORMER ICE ACTING DIRECTOR UNDER PRESIDENT OBAMA: Well, Boris, I think that, listen, they're used to this. They've been in a tough spot since day one, as you've heard, I mean, from my former colleagues and people I still are friends with, a lot of frustration and a lot of skepticism about her management style. But I'll tell you, Boris, there's been a debate going on about how are we going to do immigration enforcement, that I think really was highlighted with Minneapolis and the appointment of Tom Homan.

There's the old guard, the more seasoned ICE individuals who believe in the targeted approach, going after -- you know, selecting your targets in advance, avoiding that, those roving patrols, not having the agents put in a position of confronting protesters, and then the way we saw things play out in Minneapolis.

Ultimately, while there might have been a lot of tipping points here, I think Kristi Noem's fate was decided by Minneapolis, not only her response to the Pretti and Good shootings, but the way in which those operations were conducted. I suspect that the first clue we should have had that her days were numbered was when Tom Homan was put in charge of Minneapolis, and Tom was not shy about talking about mistakes that had been made.

But I do think this answers the question about what is the future of immigration enforcement going to look like? Are we going to see -- you know, was the administration going to back down from Minneapolis-style surge operations where you had these Border Patrol agents flooding into cities, or is it going to be an increased enforcement but more of the targeted variety? I think this settles that, that it's going to be most likely the targeted variety.

KEILAR: And so, what do you think it means specifically for his tenure and why this pick?

SANDWEG: Oh, well, you know, I think Senator Mullin probably -- listen, I'm sure that there are some in the administration who would like Tom Homan to be nominated. I think given all of the FBI investigation and other things, there's just no chance of him getting confirmed.

I think, Brianna, this is a job that is going to be very tough to get confirmed in the Senate, given everything that has happened over the past year. It's always a tough job. I'm imagining that Senator Mullin, I don't know much about his experience. I think like Secretary Noem, he doesn't come into the job with a lot of homeland security experience, not a lot of experience, not from a border state, not a lot of experience with border security or immigration enforcement. But I think as some of the commentators have said, he's probably easily confirmed.

And of all things, that's most important right now, is getting someone through cleanly and without -- I think they're trying to move on from all of these scandals that were associated -- you know, listen, setting aside the Minneapolis issue, really, the plane story is shocking to me.

I've flown around the world with homeland security secretaries on a Gulf stream that was outrageously nice. The idea that you need to upgrade to your 737. I mean, that alone, I think is enough to say that, you know, raise serious questions about her judgment.

But putting that aside, I think most important for them is getting a confirmed leader in place as quickly as possible. And for that reason, the Senator probably makes sense.

SANCHEZ: John Sandweg, thanks so much for sharing your perspective. We're going to get in a quick break as we continue to listen to the soon to be former DHS Secretary in Nashville.

[14:25:00]

To our knowledge, she has not yet addressed the news that President Trump is going to replace her with Senator Markwayne Mullin. We'll keep watching and keep you informed. Stay with us.

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KEILAR: We're updating our Breaking News this hour. President Trump saying that he's going to replace Homeland Security Secretary, Kristi Noem with Oklahoma Senator, Markwayne Mullin. The president says Noem will become Special Envoy for the Shield of the Americas. That is what the president is calling his new security initiative that he's planning to announce on Saturday in Florida, but that's certainly seen as a demotion.

SANCHEZ: Yeah --