Sen. Thom Tillis didn't ask Kristi Noem about salacious text from Corey Lewandowski

Kristi Noem had led the U.S. Department of Homeland Security for less than 14 months when President Donald Trump announced in a Truth Social post on March 5, 2026, that he was removing her from the post and nominating Republican Sen. Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma to replace her. Trump also said he was reassigning Noem to the newly created position of "Special Envoy for The Shield of the Americas."

The news came as Noem faced a grilling in Congress over repeated controversies tied to Immigration and Customs Enforcement's enforcement tactics, which many criticized as overly aggressive, as well as claims of wasteful spending at DHS, the failure of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (which depends on DHS) to help people affected by natural disasters and her alleged affair with her adviser Corey Lewandowski.

During her tenure at DHS, Noem was both the target and purveyor of several rumors — some true and others false. Here are sixteen claims about her Snopes has fact-checked.