President Donald Trump announced that Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem will be leaving her post and will be replaced by Sen. Markwayne Mullin.
Trump posted the move on Truth Social.
The president said he will nominate Mullin to replace Noem, effective March 31.
Noem will become “the Special Envoy for The Shield of the Americas, our new Security Initiative in the Western Hemisphere,” Trump wrote.
Fox News speculated that she will be temporarily replaced by Deputy Secretary Troy Edgar as part of the DHS line of succession.
CNN noted that Noem has been under scrutiny over her conduct, including an alleged relationship with her chief adviser, distribution of funding in the department, specifically an advertising campaign featuring Noem, and conflicting accounts of deadly incidents involving immigration agents.
During recent hearings, Noem said that the president knew about the advertising campaign, but he denied that, CNN said.
The DHS also paused TSA PreCheck briefly due to the current agency funding lapse, but quickly reversed the decision.
In addition to the issues over the ongoing immigration push, she was also criticized over her department’s payouts through the Federal Emergency Management Agency for disasters, The Associated Press reported.
Noem is the first member of Trump’s second-term cabinet to leave their post.
Mullin will need to be confirmed by the Senate, but can serve as acting secretary as long as the nomination is formally pending, the AP said.
Who is Sen. Markwayne Mullin?
According to his official biography, Mullin is a "successful business owner, working cow-calf rancher."
He took office in the Senate in 2023 after 10 years in the House of Representatives, representing Oklahoma’s 2nd congressional district.
Mullin said he grew up on his family’s ranch in Westville, Oklahoma, and it is where his family still lives.
He graduated from Stilwell High School and then attended Missouri Valley College on a wrestling scholarship.
He left school when his father became sick and worked at the family plumbing business. He eventually graduated in 2010 with a degree in Applied Science in Construction Technology from Oklahoma State University Institute of Technology.
Mullin "is an enrolled member of Cherokee Nation and is the first Tribal citizen to serve in the U.S. Senate in nearly two decades," he said.
He was a Mixed Martial Arts fighter (MMA), had a professional record of 5-0 and was inducted into the Oklahoma Wrestling Hall of Fame.
Mullin serves on the Senate Armed Services Committee, the Appropriations Committee, the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, and the Indian Affairs Committee.
He is married to Christie Mullin and is the father of six children: Jayce, Jim, Andrew, Larra, Ivy and Lynette.
Check back for more on this developing story.