Kristi Noem quietly moves to her third job in Trump administration
By Kaanita Iyer, Jennifer Hansler, CNN
(CNN) — Former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has quietly moved into a new role at the State Department after her special envoy status expired last month.
President Donald Trump fired her from his Cabinet earlier this year after multiple controversies while she ran the Department of Homeland Security. Noem then joined the State Department as a special envoy for “The Shield of the Americas,” focusing on the security of the Western Hemisphere — a much different position from her previous Cabinet role.
In her new role, she will continue working on similar matters, a State Department official with the matter told CNN.
“Kristi Noem’s envoy status expired last month and she is no longer in the role,” the official said. “She is now a Senior Advisor to Deputy Secretary Landau and continues to work on the Shield of the Americas portfolio.”
Noem had previously reported to Landau in her role as special envoy, a source familiar said.
The former DHS secretary said Friday in a statement posted on X that the special envoy role “was always a six-month appointment.”
During a Shield of Americas meeting last month at the United Nations General Assembly, Trump praised Noem, saying, “I want to thank Kristi Noem for doing a really terrific job.” Similarly, Trump often publicly praised Noem during her tenure as Homeland Security secretary.
But internally, her agency still faced tremendous pressure from the White House to deliver on the president’s immigration-enforcement priorities. As CNN has previously reported, citing officials, the agency’s aggressive — and at times, haphazard — approach fueled tensions within the department.
Her ouster in March came after Noem told lawmakers that Trump approved of her agency’s lavish spending on an advertising campaign that prominently showcased her.
Trump “was pissed,” according to Louisiana GOP Sen. John Kennedy, who asked Noem about Trump’s involvement and got a call from the president later that day.
Trump told NBC News that he didn’t know about the campaign and added that he “wasn’t thrilled with it.”
Within two days of the hearing, Trump called Noem to let her know that he has decided to fire her, sources told CNN at the time. She learned of the president’s decision as she was arriving at an event in Nashville.
The president also immediately announced that he was selecting then-Sen. Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma to replace her.
Before joining the second Trump administration, Noem served as the governor of South Dakota and had established herself as a Trump loyalist.
She was one of the earliest governors to endorse Trump ahead of his 2024 run for president, and was once considered a top potential running mate before eventually falling off the shortlist.
This story has been updated with additional information.
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CNN’s Jennifer Hansler, Michael Williams, Priscilla Alvarez, Lauren Fox, Gabe Cohen, Kristen Holmes, Annie Grayer and Kaitlan Collins contributed to this report.
