 |
| Former ICE Queen Kristi Noem |
President Donald Trump fired Kristi Noem as DHS Secretary on March 5, 2026, after months of scandals involving cronyism, self-promotion, misleading testimony, and mishandling of immigration enforcement incidents that drew bipartisan criticism and congressional scrutiny.
ProPublica played a central role by exposing key issues that fueled her downfall. Its November 2025 investigation revealed that a $220 million taxpayer-funded DHS ad campaign—featuring Noem prominently—secretly benefited the Strategy Group, a consulting firm run by the husband of her chief spokesperson and tied to her aides. This sparked congressional demands for probes and armed lawmakers (notably Sen. John Kennedy) with facts for aggressive questioning during March 2026 hearings, where Noem falsely claimed Trump approved the campaign.
Kennedy: Noem spent a quarter of a billion dollars putting ads out where she was prominently displayed that looked like political ads. Later that day, I got a call from President Trump. He said, I hope you understand that I had nothing to do with this. It was clear to me after… pic.twitter.com/XpxwCpRFvq
— Acyn (@Acyn) March 6, 2026
ProPublica followed with reports on her misleading Congress about top aide Corey Lewandowski's contract approvals and earlier ethics issues, like undisclosed personal income from political funds.
Broader media amplified the pressure, covering the ad scandal, alleged affair with Lewandowski, fatal shootings of U.S. citizens by agents in Minneapolis (which Noem prematurely labeled "domestic terrorism"), FEMA aid favoritism, and leadership failures. Outlets like CNN, NPR, Reuters, and The New York Times highlighted these in reports leading to grueling hearings and Trump's decision to replace her with Sen. Markwayne Mullin, reassigning Noem to a lesser envoy role.
Investigative journalism, especially ProPublica's, provided the factual foundation that turned isolated controversies into sustained accountability.