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President Donald Trump took Washington by surprise Thursday with his decision to remove Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, but few lawmakers on Capitol Hill questioned his decision.
Though Republicans rarely criticized Noem during her tenure, many GOP lawmakers argued Thursday that the secretary’s ouster was the right move. Trump quickly nominated Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., a close ally, to head the sprawling agency Thursday afternoon.
“I think the president is doing what’s necessary to make sure the department is going to be operating effectively,” Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., who welcomed the news of Mullin’s appointment, said Thursday. “It was time.”
Mullin, a 48-year-old lawmaker, is a member of Senate Republicans’ leadership team and previously served several terms in the House of Representatives.
Noem’s time helming DHS was rocked by a series of controversies involving an expensive ad campaign she claimed had Trump’s approval and her widely-panned response to the fatal shootings of two Americans in Minneapolis by federal immigration officers earlier this year.
“Obviously, it did not go well,” Donalds added when asked about Noem’s appearance during two hearings on Capitol Hill this week.
Several GOP lawmakers, including Sens. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., and John Kennedy, R-La., tore into Noem during her appearance before the Senate’s judiciary panel on Tuesday.
Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., a moderate lawmaker retiring at the end of his term, echoed Kennedy’s criticism questioning Noem’s prominent role in the costly ad campaign and her ties to recipients awarded contracts.
“There’s legit concerns. When there was a $200 million advertising [campaign], we should be better stewards of our money,” Bacon said. “I think the president probably saw a need for change.”
DHS has fired back that the massive ad campaign resulted in millions of self-deportations.
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Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., told Fox News Digital Thursday that Noem’s departure would eliminate “distractions” and “conflicts” that erupted at DHS under her leadership.
“The department needs to be entirely focused on its mission, given the situation in the Middle East right now,” Lawler said, referring to Operation Epic Fury in Iran.
Rep. Dan Newhouse, R-Wash., who is not running for reelection, wrote on social media Thursday that a “change in leadership at the Department of Homeland Security was long overdue.”
House Democrats, many of whom fiercely criticized Noem’s role in the Trump administration, appeared to agree.
“She’s done enough damage that the president finally came to his senses,” Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., the lead Democrat on the House homeland security panel, said Thursday.
“I think it’s the right decision by the president. It’s been a long time coming,” Rep. Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla., told Fox News Digital.
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Moskowitz, who tussled with Noem during her testimony to the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday, argued that she would go down as the worst DHS secretary in the agency’s two-decade history. He declined, however, to sign on to articles of impeachment circulated by House Democrats.
When asked about Mullin’s appointment, Moskowitz said he wished him good luck. “She’s left him a disaster, but obviously I want him to succeed,” the Florida Democrat said of Noem’s tenure. “We should all want that, so let’s give him that opportunity.”
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