WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump, already frustrated with Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, was incensed by her performance this week during congressional hearings and is considering firing her, lawmakers and people familiar with the discussions tell NBC News.
Trump has been speaking this week with Republican lawmakers about his displeasure with Noem and has made clear in those conversations that he is considering replacing her, according to two Republican lawmakers, a person familiar with White House’s thinking and three people familiar with the president’s private discussions.
White House officials have already discussed names of potential replacements for Noem, including Republican Sens. Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma and Steve Daines of Montana, according to two of the people familiar with the discussions.
Mullin told reporters that he spoke to President Trump recently, but when asked whether he was interested in the job, he said:“I just don’t want to talk about that right now. We’ll discuss it later.”
When asked whether later meant later on Thursday, Mullin responded: “it could.”
No decision has been made by the president, the sources say, but that he has told lawmakers that he is unhappy with Noem’s testimony this week before House and Senate committees.
Noem has been at the forefront of Trump’s signature policy agendas: the deportation of immigrants, the restricting of immigration and the clamping down of the U.S.-Mexico border. Her ouster would mark the first time a Cabinet secretary has exited in Trump’s second term.
The president was particularly frustrated by Noem’s response when she was repeatedly asked about her role in approving contracts, specifically a $220 million ad campaign to encourage immigrants to self-deport, the sources said. U.S. Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., described Trump as “pissed.”
At one point during questioning, Noem told Kennedy that Trump knew about her decision to approve the ad campaign contracts — an answer that did not sit well with the president, the sources said. The ad contracts went out through a process that limited competitive bidding.
A White House official told NBC News that the president did not sign off on the ad campaign.
Kennedy told reporters he had spoken with the president about the exchange.
“The president of the United States called me, and I’m not going to speak for him, folks, but, I would put it this way: his recollection and her recollection are different.”
“I can assure you, he is not happy with her,” said one of the lawmakers who spoke with Trump this week, who, like others, were granted anonymity to discuss sensitive internal discussions. “She did horrible in the hearings and has made a lot of errors.”
Asked for comment on Trump’s frustrations with Noem, a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said in a statement, “Secretary Noem serves at the pleasure of the President. She is honored to serve the American people and lead DHS. Under her leadership, we have the most secure border in American history, 3 million illegal aliens left the United States, and we now have the lowest murder rate in 125 years.”
The White House did not respond to a request for comment about the president’s thinking on Noem.
Asked whether Noem would be replaced, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., responded: “Time will tell.”
When asked whether he still had confidence in her, he said “stay tuned.”
One GOP senator told NBC News that Trump had been calling around Capitol Hill asking for input on Noem since last year, and that her performance during the hearings this week were “water boiling over the edge of the pot.”
