Trump removes Noem as DHS secretary
Kristi Noem, the embattled Department of Homeland Security (DHS) secretary, has been faraway from her place by Donald Trump.
In a post on Truth Social, the president mentioned that Noem had “served us well, and has had numerous and spectacular results”, earlier than noting that she would grow to be the particular envoy for the “Shield of the Americas” – a brand new “security initiative” that he plans to announce this week in Doral, Florida with Latin American leaders.
Trump introduced that he was nominating Republican senator Markywayne Mullin to be the brand new homeland safety secretary.
“A MAGA Warrior, and former undefeated professional MMA fighter, Markwayne truly gets along well with people, and knows the Wisdom and Courage required to Advance our America First Agenda,” the president mentioned of the Oklahoma lawmaker.
As the one Native American within the Senate, Markwayne is a improbable advocate for our unimaginable Tribal Communities. Markwayne will work tirelessly to Keep our Border Secure, Stop Migrant Crime, Murderers, and different Criminals from illegally coming into our Country, End the Scourge of Illegal Drugs and, MAKE AMERICA SAFE AGAIN.”
Key occasions
Democrats welcome information of Noem’s elimination as DHS secretary
Congressional Democrats have began to react to Donald Trump’s announcement that he’s ousting Kristi Noem as his homeland safety secretary.
Robert Garcia, the rating member on the House oversight committee, responded shortly on social media: “Well now we don’t have to impeach her.”
This comes after months of repudiation from Democrats about Noem’s management of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), notably the techniques of federal immigration officers throughout crackdowns throughout the nation.
Senator Cory Booker, who lambasted Noem throughout a judiciary committee listening to this week and repeated requires her resignation, mentioned that he was “glad” to see that Noem is being changed. “There is a long road ahead to reel in this out-of-control agency,” the New Jersey lawmaker mentioned.
Meanwhile, the House’s prime Democrat, Hakeem Jeffries, welcomed the information of Noem’s elimination. “Keep the pressure on these extremists,” the minority chief mentioned, whereas additionally calling for the ouster of lawyer basic Pam Bondi.
Trump removes Noem as DHS secretary
Kristi Noem, the embattled Department of Homeland Security (DHS) secretary, has been faraway from her place by Donald Trump.
In a post on Truth Social, the president mentioned that Noem had “served us well, and has had numerous and spectacular results”, earlier than noting that she would grow to be the particular envoy for the “Shield of the Americas” – a brand new “security initiative” that he plans to announce this week in Doral, Florida with Latin American leaders.
Trump introduced that he was nominating Republican senator Markywayne Mullin to be the brand new homeland safety secretary.
“A MAGA Warrior, and former undefeated professional MMA fighter, Markwayne truly gets along well with people, and knows the Wisdom and Courage required to Advance our America First Agenda,” the president mentioned of the Oklahoma lawmaker.
As the one Native American within the Senate, Markwayne is a improbable advocate for our unimaginable Tribal Communities. Markwayne will work tirelessly to Keep our Border Secure, Stop Migrant Crime, Murderers, and different Criminals from illegally coming into our Country, End the Scourge of Illegal Drugs and, MAKE AMERICA SAFE AGAIN.”
Top House Republicans name for embattled congressman to finish re-election bid
House Republican management has referred to as for Tony Gonzales to finish his re-election marketing campaign. This comes after the House ethics committee launched an investigation into the consultant’s conduct, following stories that he had an extramartial affair with an aide who later died by suicide.
On Wednesday, Gonzales admitted to the relationship with the his late staffer, Regina Ann Santos-Aviles, calling it “a lapse in judgment”. The GOP lawmaker, who represents an space of Texas that stretches from Juarez to San Antonio, mentioned that he hadn’t spoken with Santos-Aviles for a yr earlier than she died.
“We have encouraged him [Gonzales] to address these very serious allegations directly with his constituents and his colleagues,” the decrease chamber’s prime Republicans, led by House speaker Mike Johnson, mentioned in an announcement. “In the meantime, Leadership has asked Congressman Gonzales to withdraw from his race for re-election.”
Gonzales is now going through a runoff within the Republican major race for his district, after he didn’t safe 50% of the vote in Tuesday’s election. If he stays within the working, he’ll sq. off towards Brandon Herrera, a gun producer and YouTube persona, once more in May.
Was Trump ever answerable for the Iran battle? – podcast
This week on Politics Weekly America, my colleague Rachel Leingang speaks with overseas coverage skilled Ali Vaez – who discusses what it was like to participate in battle sport workouts for the Pentagon, and the way they examine with what he has seen play out this week.
Then the Guardian’s Andrew Roth talks us by the internal chaos within the Trump administration and Congress over Trump’s choice to go to battle with Iran.
Trump denies Noem’s declare that he signed off on $220m border safety advert marketing campaign
Donald Trump has mentioned that he didn’t log out on a $200m border security advertising campaign that includes his embattled homeland safety secretary Kristi Noem.
“I never knew anything about it,” the president informed Reuters in a telephone interview as we speak.
NBC News additionally reported on the denial as we speak, citing a White House official as saying: “POTUS did not sign off on a $220 MILLION dollar ad campaign. Absolutely not.”
Noem – who has been overseeing Trump’s aggressive and extremely contentious immigration crackdown – was questioned by each Democrats and Republicans earlier than a Senate panel yesterday in regards to the contract and course of to pick the businesses.
It was additionally the primary time she addressed members of Congress since federal immigration officers fatally shot two US residents – Renee Good and Alex Pretti – throughout a surge of legislation enforcement in Minneapolis in January. Several Democrats have referred to as for Noem to resign or danger impeachment.
In response to questions from GOP senator John Kennedy, Noem claimed that Trump did find out about her choice to approve the contract for the border safety adverts, wherein she is prominently featured, together with a scene filmed on horseback at Mount Rushmore within the former South Dakota governor’s dwelling state.
As Shrai reported on Tuesday, Kennedy additionally famous that the contract to make the adverts was awarded to a method group run by the husband of Noem’s former spokesperson, Tricia McLaughlin.
Noem mentioned on Tuesday that the contract was awarded by “a competitive process” and that no political appointees have been concerned. Yesterday, she mentioned the contract was “all done correctly, all done legally”.
Further to that, Donald Trump has mentioned the identical factor to Reuters as we speak.
He mentioned that the US will need to have a job in selecting Iran’s subsequent chief and that whereas it was very early within the technique of selecting a brand new chief, Ali Khamenei’s son Mojtaba was an unlikely selection.
We need to be concerned within the course of of selecting the individual who’s going to guide Iran into the long run. We don’t have to return each 5 years and do that time and again … Somebody that’s going to be nice for the individuals, nice for the nation.
Trump says he should ‘be concerned in’ selecting Iran’s subsequent chief
Donald Trump has mentioned he should “be involved in the appointment” of Iran’s subsequent chief as he was in Venezuela, and dismissed the thought of the assassinated ayatollah’s son, Mojtaba Khamenei, succeeding his father as supreme chief as “unacceptable”.
“They are wasting their time. Khamenei’s son is a lightweight. I have to be involved in the appointment, like with Delcy [Rodriguez] in Venezuela,” Trump told Axios today. You will keep in mind that Rodriguez took over after US forces captured president Nicolás Maduro in January.
Trump added that he couldn’t settle for a brand new Iranian chief who would proceed Khamenei’s insurance policies.
“Khamenei’s son is unacceptable to me. We want someone that will bring harmony and peace to Iran,” he mentioned.
Selecting a pacesetter who adopted the insurance policies of the previous supreme chief may pressure the US again to battle “in five years”, he added.
It comes a day after Trump’s protection secretary Pete Hegseth insisted that regime change was not the first purpose of the US navy operation in Iran. Other Trump administration officers have made the identical declare for the reason that US and Israel launched assaults on Iran final Saturday, which killed the former supreme leader Ali Khamenei .
This, regardless that Trump himself has pushed for Iranian regime change beforehand. His administration has pivoted its messaging in latest days to deal with destroying Iran’s nuclear and navy capabilities.
Since the US-Israeli navy assault started, Trump has instructed a number of instances that he had a good suggestion who he wished to succeed Khamenei in Iran.
But these newest feedback to Axios come after he informed reporters on the White House on Tuesday:
Most of the individuals we had in thoughts are useless.
No formal announcement has been made out of Iran relating to the number of a brand new chief, although Mojtaba Khamenei is considered the frontrunner.
State division says nearly 20,000 residents have returned to US from Middle East
Almost 20,000 American residents have returned to the US from the Middle East, based on state division spokesperson Dylan Johnson.
“These figures do not include the many Americans who have safely relocated to other countries or those who have departed the Middle East but are still in transit back to the United States,” Johnson said in a statement.
This comes after the Trump administration acquired questions over whether or not it ought to have finished extra, upfront of the weekend strikes on Iran, to evacuate extra Americans within the Middle East.
Major airways have canceled flights to and from the area since Saturday, and a number of other airports paused flights and scaled back operations, leaving 1000’s stranded. There have additionally been stories of Americans calling the state division hotline and being receiving no steering on find out how to return to the US.
Congress to vote on funding invoice to reopen DHS
Both the US House and Senate are set to forged votes on a funding invoice to reopen the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The division shuttered three weeks in the past, after lawmakers didn’t move the required appropriations amid a reckoning over aggressive techniques by federal immigration officers.
The House is ready to vote on the measure at 4pm ET, whereas the Senate will try and advance the laws at 1:45pm ET. The higher chamber must clear a 60-vote threshold to maneuver funding ahead. It appears all however sure to fail, as Democrats stay resolute that any invoice should embrace stronger guardrails on Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP). Their calls for have largely been dismissed by GOP members of Congress.
While a number of businesses, just like the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema), have been affected, immigration enforcement is ready to proceed, due to the billions of {dollars} conferred by the sweeping tax coverage invoice that Donald Trump signed into legislation final yr.
On Truth Social as we speak, Donald Trump has spent a lot of his time on the platform urging lawmakers to take up the SAVE America Act – laws which requires a photograph ID with a purpose to forged a poll, proof of citizenship at voter registration and considerably curtails mail-in voting.
The House handed the invoice, however faces an uphill battle within the Senate.
Hannah Harris Green
Experts say that the Trump administration has didn’t take apparent steps to include the unfold of measles, which is continuous to speed up within the United States as the number of cases has climbed past 1,000.
The administration has revealed a relaxed angle towards the extremely contagious virus each by way of messaging and funding allocation, consultants mentioned.
“One of the leaders at [the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)] referred to this dramatic and tragic increase in the cases of measles, and, in some states, deaths, as just the ‘cost of doing business’,” famous Alonzo Plough, who has labored in a number of senior public well being positions and is at present chief of science on the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
Plough was referencing a quote from Dr Ralph Abraham, who served as CDC principal deputy director starting in December 2025, and who resigned in late February. To Plough, listening to that from CDC management suggests “that they do not believe that this is a significant issue to track”.
Andrew G Nixon, a spokesperson for the Department of Health and Human Services, mentioned it’s “entirely inaccurate” to counsel that the CDC had deprioritized measles.
“The CDC’s focus remains on measles prevention and treatment education and targeted public health interventions to protect communities and provide clear, accurate information to all Americans,” Nixon mentioned.
Florida’s former surgeon basic and a present professor at Brown University’s college of public well being, Dr Scott Rivkees, mentioned that present messaging on public well being is inflicting “tremendous confusion to the public”, with “individuals in senior positions who are advocating for things that the medical community will take issue with”, like “alternatives” to the measles vaccine, which is understood to be secure and efficient.
