DORAL, Fla. — House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said Tuesday that Republicans were “in a course-correction mode” after the ouster of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
“We got a little hiccup with some of the Hispanic and Latino voters for certain because some of the immigration enforcement was viewed to be over-zealous,” Johnson acknowledged in an interview with NBC News’ Scott Wong.
That followed a 2024 election cycle that saw Latino voting blocs shifting rightward — including a majority of Hispanic men who cast ballots for President Trump.
“We’re in a course-correction mode right now,” he said during a fireside chat at the annual House Republican retreat in Florida. “We’re going to have a new Secretary of Homeland Security.”
Johnson added that he expected Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.), Trump’s new pick for DHS chief, would sail through confirmation.
“He’s a thoughtful guy. He’ll bring a thoughtful approach,” he added.
President Trump announced Noem, 54, would be leaving her position by the end of the month after back-to-back congressional hearings revealed she shelled out $220 million for TV ads — starring herself.
A portion of that ad money passed through an intermediary to a company run by the husband of Noem’s at-the-time spokeswoman.
The Cabinet official was taped in front of Mount Rushmore on horseback in one ad, declaring immigrants entering legally were promised an “American dream” that was “as big as these endless skies.”
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“From President Trump and me: Welcome home,” Noem had said.
The Homeland Security secretary told Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) when pressed about the nearly quarter billion dollars in taxpayer funding that the president had “tasked” her “with getting the message out” that illegal immigrants “needed to leave.”
But asked about authorizing the spending, Trump told Reuters: “I never knew anything about it.”
Noem’s nonchalance in placing the blame on him also infuriated the president, two sources close to the White House later said, ultimately prompting him to sack her.
The secretary denied violating federal rules governing contracts, and her spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin also disputed that a $226,000 subcontract had flowed to a firm run by her husband.
The “final straw” was also her shocking refusal to answer tough questions at a subsequent House hearing about alleged “sexual relations” she had with her top aide Corey Lewandowski, according to sources inside and close to the White House.
“There was just no going back with the two hearings. It all became about her and him,” one source dished about the Senate and House Judiciary Committee grillings.
Noem’s husband of 34 years, Bryon Noem, had joined her at the start of a hearing before Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-Calif.) bluntly asked whether she was engaged in an extramarital affair.
“I am shocked that we’re going down and peddling tabloid garbage in this committee today,” the DHS chief responded. “I would tell you is that he is a special government employee who works for the White House. There are thousands of them in the federal government.”
The former South Dakota governor’s tenure at the department was also troubled by the fatal shootings of two American citizens in January amid immigration enforcement actions in Minnesota.
Reps for DHS did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
