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Trump Ousts Kristi Noem as DHS Secretary; Trump: Sen. Markwayne Mullin to Replace Noem as DHS Secretary; Rep. Brian Mast (R-FL) Discusses About DHS Secretary 3-3:30p ET

Aired March 05, 2026 - 15:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: We are following -- we're following the breaking news, which is that Kristi Noem is being ousted as the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. She has actually just tweeted her response. We're going to put that up on the screen so that we can take a look at that. Actually, as soon as we get it up on the screen, we'll read it for you. But President Trump -- here -- here it is, she says thank you to President Trump for appointing her as the special envoy for the shield of the Americas. Secretary Rubio and Secretary Hegseth are incredible leaders and I look forward to working with them closely to dismantle cartels that have poured drugs into our nation and killed our children and grandchildren.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: Yes, she goes on to talk about historic accomplishments at the Department of Homeland Security, talking about delivering a secure border and delivering FEMA disaster relief. Notably though, she was criticized for her response through FEMA by a number of Republican senators yesterday. President Trump saying that he's going to replace Noem with Oklahoma senator, Markwayne Mullin. And CNN actually caught up with him just a short time ago. I believe we have that footage.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. MARKWAYNE MULLIN (R-OK): Listen, I am super excited about this opportunity. It came at a -- not a complete surprise, but it came at a little bit of surprise for us. And so, the President and I, as you guys know, we're -- we're great friends and we get along great. I look forward to working with him in his cabinet. Of course, we've still got to go through this little thing called confirmation and we're going to get started on right away.

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What about that conversation, what did he say to you?

(CROSSTALK)

MULLIN: You guys -- you guys have been with me long enough, asking about questions you know I don't share private conversation with the (INAUDIBLE) ...

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Tell me your reaction -- tell me your reaction ...

MULLIN: Sorry?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are you going to the White House today?

MULLIN: I don't think I'm going today. I think I need to talk to my wife first, so ...

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you expect -- do you expect (INAUDIBLE) support from Democrats?

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just tell us -- tell us your reaction when you got the phone call from him.

MULLIN: I was excited. I mean, I -- listen ...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When you saw his name calling you.

MULLIN: Well, it came from the White House. So, it came from the switchboard, but I was excited. I -- the President first of all, I -- the President and I have a -- a really good relationship. We talk all the time, anyways. I wasn't -- I've got to be honest with you, I wasn't expecting the call today, but -- super excited. And I'm -- and I'm more excited about just ready to get started. There's a lot of work we can do to get Department of Homeland Security working, you know working for the American people.

You know, the Department of Homeland Security got -- has a -- a very broad jurisdiction and -- and I think there's a lot of work that we -- we need to do and I'm excited it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You said you're excited about ...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Senator Fetterman says he's going to vote for you. Do you expect other Democrats to vote for you?

MULLIN: I -- I -- John already texted me and, of course, you guys know John and I are friends, too. And so, I don't know. We're -- we're going to try to earn everybody's votes. I want people to understand, I'm not -- when I go into this position, yes. I'm a Republican. Yes, I'm conservative. But Department of Homeland Security is to keep everybody regardless if you support me or if you don't support me, regardless of what your thoughts are, I'm here to enforce the policies that Congress passed and right now I'm part of it. But once I make that transition, my focus is to keep the homeland secure. That's going to be my focus and -- and we're super excited about this opportunity.

(CROSSTALK)

MULLIN: Well, let me go here. I will answer your questions a little bit, yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Any - any lessons learned from the past ...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Senator Schumer says that the rot is throughout the agency ...

MULLIN: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: ... and that changing the head at the top may not necessarily change or treat the agency. What do you tell Democrats who may not be ...

MULLIN: I'm going to -- I'm going to have a conversation with -- if -- if Mr. Schumer wants to sit down and talk to me. I'm going to sit and talk to him. I want to try to earn their support and I'm going to be very open and honest with them and at the end of day, all I can do is do my job and -- and so, I don't -- I'm not going to get in the, you know, a chitchat. But if they have real concerns, I'm going to listen to it. I'm going to see if it's practical.

But nothing's going to prevent me from doing my job. I'm going to enforce the policies and the laws that Congress has passed and we're going to protect our homeland.

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just looking at some of the ...

MULLIN: I'm going to take one more and then I'm ...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Okay.

MULLIN: ... I need to go.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you, Senator. Just looking at some of the criticism that Noem has faced, is there any learning lessons that you have picked up from Noem in ways in which you want to bleed the agency a little bit differently.

MULLIN: Listen, Kristi is a friend and I haven't had time to call Kristi yet and -- or Secretary Noem -- and we -- we -- our families are friends. She was -- she was tasked to do a very difficult job. And I think she has -- she has performed the best she can do and underneath the circumstances.

[15:05:09]

Is there always lessons that can be learned? You know, listen my wife and I we have -- over the years, we have been fortunate enough to purchase companies and grow our companies and every day there's something you can do better. And so, I think there's -- there's opportunities to build off successes. And there's also opportunities to build off things that maybe didn't go quite as planned. So, I got ...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: All right. Not a complete surprise he said, but it was a little bit of a surprise. Let's talk about this with CNN's Dana Bash. And we're also joined by former CIA case officer Kevin Carroll, who was a senior counselor to John Kelly during his time at DHS.

That was interesting. He gave us a little bit Dana of a -- a view into this process, which just sort of came together very quickly.

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, came together quickly and in some ways not so quickly.

KEILAR: Sure.

BASH: But, obviously, as our great team at the White House has been reporting the straw that clearly broke the camel's back was her testimony yesterday. It -- which was very explosive. But the thing that really stuck in the President's craw was her saying that -- that the President approved a lot of money, hundreds of millions of dollars -- I think 200-million ...

KEILAR: Two-hundred and twenty million dollars.

BASH: ... to -- to make videos and to make ads, which apparently he says he didn't support. But look, if it was that in a vacuum, she would be fine. But it's a series of problems that he has caused her. The most -- that she has caused him rather -- the most egregious of course from the perspective of the President and people around him was the way that things went down in Minneapolis.

And the fact that she stayed in her job after things got so out of control there and she said things that just turned out not to be factually true emphatically so, the fact that she stayed in that -- in her job then is -- is really noteworthy. I am told that when the President started calling around to his allies as he is want to do last night that he was not only complaining about her and suggesting that her time was up. He was already crowdsourcing the idea of Markwayne Mullin even last night as Homeland Security Secretary. The two of them are extremely close. They talk probably every day till all hours of the night.

He is if not the biggest Trump ally and, you know, supporter on Capitol Hill, and that says a lot because the Republican Party right now is filled with them on Capitol Hill. He's close to the top.

SANCHEZ: Wow. Kevin, I -- I wonder what your reaction is to -- to this news.

KEVIN CARROLL, FORMER SENIOR COUNSELOR AT HOMELAND SECURITY DEPARTMENT: Well, I'm not sure that Senator Mullin's really qualified. I mean, most of the other secretaries of Homeland Security have had substantial experience in federal law enforcement or -- or the military, have held senior executive positions. He's an impressive athlete. I understand he was successful small businessman. But we're in a severe threat environment right now, probably the highest threat environment since 9/11 with the Quds force and Lebanese Hezbollah threats going on right now, I -- I really don't think it's time for him to be in his first National Security position or his first executive position.

KEILAR: What about having been a member of Congress and a senator? What does that -- obviously -- I mean, yes, he -- and he's -- I think he's one of the more wealthy members of the Senate, because he -- he sold his small but then not so small business. But, yes, granted that's a I think a plumbing business, right? And he has a background in mixed martial arts. But he does have a significant now amount of time in Washington that may not be in your view sufficient for this job. What do you think he may or may not have learned during his time on the hill that he can bring to this?

CARROLL: Well, certainly there has not been a lot of aggressive oversight of -- of DHS in the recent past. If he'd been through a period of -- you know doing intensive oversight and investigations work into -- into DHS, that might help. But really, considering the counterterrorism threat environment right now, I'm -- I'm worried about somebody learning the ropes as the head of the -- the third biggest department in the government after all.

SANCHEZ: Given Secretary Noem's limited experience as well. I mean she was governor of South Dakota. She served in Congress, but she also had limited experience going into that role. Generally, would you say that there's going to be a market difference in the way that DHS is run now?

CARROLL: Unfortunately, no, she was inexperienced and it didn't go well for her. And you know, I really think in -- in that role you need somebody who's had significant national security experience, significant executive experience, which you just don't get as a legislator, really. And she was a governor though, too.

SANCHEZ: Yes.

KEILAR: That's right as a -- an executive there, so there's -- there is that issue of experience and what someone brings to it, but there's also the issue of where DHS as a Department is Kevin, which is that a lot a lot of people have shifted their focus away from the traditional sort of focus on let's say what we saw in Austin.

[15:10:03]

It's -- it appears that may have been sort of a lone actor threat, but there could be more. And I know that that's a real concern of folks like you.

CARROLL: I mean Secretary Noem, in her testimony the other day was talking about the number of known and suspected terrorists who may have crossed the border, you know, in -- in recent years, she was making the -- the remark in a partisan sense, but it's actually true, right? I mean, there are certainly Lebanese Hezbollah operatives in the country There's likely Quds force operatives in the country. And we really need to be at the top of our game right now. I mean,

we've decapitated the regime. We've called for proxy forces to go in and -- and carve up the country. Quds force has absolutely no reason to hold back right now.

SANCHEZ: Dana, I wonder if you think there might be a different approach from the Trump administration that this is signaling when it comes to the immigration crackdown, because as we've seen in polling what was a strength for President Trump going back to the 2024 election, he's now underwater.

BASH: That change is already underway. You know, we saw that the minute that Greg Bovino was taken out of Minneapolis, that Tom Homan was put in there. And that even at that Moment Kristi Noem stayed in her job as Homeland Security secretary, but she was sidelined from the interior enforcement process that they were doing. I mean, she was, you know, they told her that she should focus on other things in the Department of Homeland Security, which is easy to do because it is a huge department. And I think that's sort of an important thing to inject into the conversation is that this cabinet post this department didn't exist until it was created after 9/11.

And the idea was to make it so that these agencies talk to each other and you didn't have the stove piping that helped create a climate that allowed for 9/11. It has gotten bigger and bigger and bigger and so the question is you're right, it's -- it's a big part of the executive branch and of the federal government at this point.

So, how is he going -- how is Markwayne Mullin going to handle that, maybe handle it differently broadly? I think when it comes to immigration, I don't see much of a change at all. I mean, that policy is coming straight from the White House from Stephen Miller. I will just say politically speaking, when you have to decide, who you're going to put into a job that is going to suddenly become open like this, not only is Markwayne Mullin a huge ally of the President, somebody he can trust, he's also from a red state.

And so, taking him out and with a Republican governor -- taking him out means that it's not going to shift the balance of power because there will clearly be another Republican put in there.

KEILAR: We are in a different place as a country being in this war with Iran and that sort of threat profile that Kevin is illustrating there. The job that Markwayne Mullin has is going to be really different than the one that Kristi Noem had.

I wonder if that's something that administration officials are, you know, are they sort of cognizant of that, considering some of the changes we've seen at DHS.

BASH: I hope so. I honestly don't know the answer to that. I mean, just in sort of seeing the disconnect that has bubbled over. I'm sure you hear a lot about this from your former colleagues at DHS between, for lack of a better way to say it, the worker bees the people who are the experts and people have been there for a long time and have the experience and have the know-how and the political appointees starting with Kristi Noem has been -- there's been a big gulf there and -- which tells you a lot of things.

But one of the things I'm thinking that informs of us of is that those people do still exist and they do understand the nature of threats and they do understand what they need to do to be true to the name of the Cabinet and the name of the department, which is Homeland Security. Do you think so?

CARROLL: Yes. I agree. It's a gigantic department, 22 different components, a senior leader only has so much bandwidth to focus on, on different things. And they're just going to have to change, you know, some of the emphasis from immigration to counterterrorism, anti- terrorism. And I think, yes, they -- they have to listen to the careers who are still there. They -- they push many of them out, others have quit, because they disagreed, you know, with the -- the human rights aspects of the immigration policies that's going on. But it's time to get back to first principles, focus on counterterrorism, listen to the careers.

KEILAR: Such an important piece of the story is Kristi Noem has been pushed out at DHS, soon to be operational, and Markwayne Mullin. We're expecting to be coming in.

Thank you. Dana, thank you, Kevin, to both of you for the conversation.

BASH: Thank you.

KEILAR: We're staying on this breaking news. We'll -- we'll be right back after a quick break.

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[15:19:09]

SANCHEZ: We're continuing to follow the breaking news on DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, President Trump announcing that he's removed her from her position and will replace her with Oklahoma Republican senator Markwayne Mullin at the end of the month. This is a very controversial tenure for the Secretary, which was marred by perceived missteps and the deadly shootings of two U.S. citizens by immigration agents in Minnesota.

Let's discuss with Florida Republican Congressman Brian Mast. He's the Chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

Congressman, thank you so much for being with us. First, I just want to start by getting your reaction to this news that Kristi Noem is out at DHS.

Yes, I would just react more to that Markwayne Mullin is in. He's a close friend. I've known him since my time in Congress. We used to hit the gym together. He can't do as many pull-ups as me, but he's still a strong pick and I have every confidence that he will go out there and take the reins very well.

SANCHEZ: So, no reaction to Noem being replaced as a result of some of the controversial Issues that were raised by some of your Republican colleagues during Senate hearings this week.

[15:20:08]

MAST: Also, that -- yes, I'll answer affirmatively. I have no reaction to Kristi Noem being replaced. I was not a part of the conversations about her being replaced. I have not put any thought into this week at all about whether she was going to be replaced or not. Truth be told I've been entirely focused on everything going on in the region of the Middle East what's going on with people there our assets there, what's going on with the operation everything and -- and literally zero thought into this.

But I will say again, Sen. Markwayne Mullin, close friend ...

SANCHEZ: Got it.

MAST: ... strong pick. I have every confidence in the job he will do.

SANCHEZ: No doubt. We -- we, of course, had reached out to your team and coordinated to have a conversation about Iran, but obviously this is breaking news and she was a controversial figure, so I figured it that I would ask you (INAUDIBLE) ...

MAST: I get it -- I understand (INAUDIBLE) ask about it.

SANCHEZ: Of course, to the question of -- of Iran I wanted to get your thoughts on President Trump telling Axios that he personally has to be involved in the appointment of the next leader of Iran. Doesn't that eliminate any doubt in your mind that this is a regime change war?

MAST: Not at all. Two things are true at once. Absolutely, the United States of America, we would be moronic to not want a change in regime there. A regime that's attacked us over and again for 47 years. We could say that -- but let's just talk recently, right? Firing drones at our troops in Syria and Iraq, shooting at our -- whether our Navy vessels or our merchant vessels going through the Straits of Hormuz or -- or other places, killing three Americans in Jordan at Tower -- at Tower 22 the list goes on and on.

Putting Americans on their knees on an Israeli Navy vessel, right? We would be moronic to not want the same thing that 30,000 Iranians probably just recently died for and even more imprisoned for -- for saying they want that change They don't want this radical regime that spends all of its resources on nukes missiles and terrorists.

SANCHEZ: But Congressman, why does the administration Deny that regime change is a goal if President Trump is explicitly saying that he will not be happy with the situation. He will not stop until there is a leader in Iran that he likes.

MAST: I think it ties very well to what is the stated objective. Given my opinion, I think it ties very well to the stated objective of saying Eliminate every single piece of military hardware that can reach out and touch an American or has reached out to touch an American, right? Again, whether it's terrorists, whether it's development of nukes, but more so those ballistic missile platforms. That includes the people that are pushing the button or giving the directive to say, hey, I see an American target over there fire at that American target. That's a part of that -- to me, I'm giving my analysis, that is a part of that weapons platform. That system if it's the general saying, hey, go out there and -- and acquire that target. Hit that target. Here's your reward for hitting that target. That's just as much a part of that package.

As long as those people are in the mix in that decision-making loop, that is a problem for the United States of America. It's a part of the same package.

SANCHEZ: Sure, I -- I do wonder where President Trump is going to find the kind of leader that he's looking for if -- if it is part of that package as -- as part of the overall goal, because he made the comparison to Venezuela. Iran is very different from Venezuela. It's a theocracy and the leaders there believe that dying for the Islamist revolution is glory, right? A revolution that's founded as a rejection of the West.

So, how is President Trump going to find a leader that the clerics and the IRGC see as legitimate, but then who's also somehow friendly to the U.S.?

MAST: Great question and that goes to whether the transition of power in Iran is under what the Islamic Revolution would see in place, okay, they had three leaders that they put in place. Now, they moved to this 88-person assembly, which we've already taken care of some of the people that have been a part of those assemblies. And then, this 88- person assembly decide whether it's going to be the second son of the Ayatollah or the grandson of the Ayatollah or a radical cleric like Arafi or some other cleric down the line that's just as radical or more.

That assumes that they are going to make that pick instead of what the President has begged for which is to say, hey, listen, we need 90 million Iranians to go out there and take back their country from what is the Islamic Revolution. Choose and charter a new course not the course that the IRGC will put in place having -- having that whole assembly directly underneath their thumb. He's begging for the Iranian people, go out there and chart a new course for your country. You're going to have the support of the United States of America to do it. Just like he's saying right now, hey, Kurds in the region in independent Kurdistan that want to move back into where you've been displaced from Iran in that region, you have the support of the United States of America to go in there and do this. But you have to be the 90 million plus boots on the ground.

[15:25:03]

SANCHEZ: It -- it -- it sound -- well, that -- it sounds like he's asking for a civil war, a civil uprising and it's very difficult to accomplish for the Iranian people because, I mean, they're largely unarmed and they're going up against a very well-armed trained militia that is ready to die for this Islamist revolution and they've shown that they don't care about protecting their own. They've killed, by some estimates, 30,000 of -- of their own people. So, how are they going to -- that's the difficult thing, how are they going to succeed with just American air support and perhaps some Kurdish forces it? How does that not require an extended engagement by the United States, nation building boots on the ground? How is that different from Iraq or Afghanistan congressman?

MAST: So, let's go to the how is it different to Iraq and Afghanistan in a minute and let's start with the other part, right? So, you're bringing up an important liability in the operation, right? Okay, you have a largely unarmed population against a largely organized and militant IRGC, how do you ensure that you don't get into a prolonged protracted civil war? It's an important question.

But it's something that nobody was asking a month ago when we had all of these people that were uprising in Iran saying we want to take back our country. They were out there undertaking the risks. They knew the risks.

SANCHEZ: I mean, they were slaughtered.

MAST: They knew they were unarmed and they were willing to go out there and say, we want to chart a different course. Now, they have substantially more support then -- that's an understatement, to say substantially is an understatement. They had the full weight and power of the United States of America of all of the Gulf countries in the region that Iran has now dropped ordnance on. On other countries in the region, that Iran has not even dropped ordnance on and then you talk about other groups where they have displaced the people that were natural-born Iranians like some of these Kurds, all coming in and saying we are pointing our rifles at the IRGC. We are turning our rifles at the Islamic Revolution and looking to chart a new course.

So, yes, you -- you would -- anybody would be foolish to say that's not a liability that exists. I agree with you entirely. But, the resources that are coming to bear against that liability are unmatched.

The second part of your question. How is this different from what went on with Iraq or Afghanistan or let's say Libya and Gaddafi under Obama, right? How is this different from -- from what took place in those instances?

You have an entirely different Commander-in-chief that is calling from the very beginning to say, hey, we need the 90 million boots on the ground to be you, the Iranian people or if it's Venezuela. Hey, we need you the Venezuelan people to be the boots on the ground in this situation to take this golden opportunity To take back your country. That's what it is for you is an amazing opportunity.

We're going to accomplish the American mission, number one. The American mission, remove every single piece of Iranian military hardware that can reach out and has touched us and has killed thousands of Americans. We're going to destroy all of that. So, the liability against us comes to an end in that way. But here's your opportunity to take your country. SANCHEZ: All right. Congressman Brian Mast, we have to leave the conversation there. We do appreciate your time and look forward to the next one.

MAST: Thank you.

SANCHEZ: Still to come, CNN's Erin Burnett joins us live from Tel Aviv with the latest from the region as the war in Iran rages on. Stay with CNN.

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