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Kristi Noem

Official Department of Homeland Security portrait of Kristi Noem.

Trump's eighth secretary of homeland security, succeeded after the Senate confirmed Markwayne Mullin in March 2026.

Relationship to Trumphomeland security secretary in Trump's second administration

Timeline

  1. Noem serves as Trump's eighth homeland security secretaryFormer secretary by March 23, 2026homeland security secretary in Trump's second administration · documented · 3 sources
  2. Noem's personal-review rule placed nearly $10 billion in nonprofit disaster grants on holdDHS required secretary-level review for large paymentsTrump-appointed homeland security secretary · documented · 1 source
    1. commitmentNonprofit disaster grants held for reviewnearly $10 billion
      Reported commitment source
      Federal Emergency Management Agency
      Reported intended recipient
      Approved nonprofit disaster grantees
      Financially affected
      Disaster-affected communities
      reported · 2025-03-14 · observedRead source record
      Calculation detailsPopulation FEMA nonprofit disaster-grant fundingPeriod 2025-01-20 to 2025-03-14Basis Committee-staff compilation of DHS and FEMA payment controls.Limits Rounded amount held for review, not proven permanent loss.
  3. DOGE review froze billions in FEMA recovery reimbursementsStorm-damaged communities reported delayed reimbursements during DOGE reviewTrump-appointed homeland security secretary · documented · 1 source
  4. Treasury's inspector general opened a review of Trump and DOGE taxpayer-data requestsTIGTA began preplanning and requested access agreements and legal rationalesTrump-appointed homeland security secretary · documented · 1 source
  5. SSA data work expanded toward a national voter-eligibility systemSSA and DHS pursued data matching for state election officialsTrump-appointed homeland security secretary · documented · 1 source
  6. DOGE expanded use of Musk's Grok to analyze federal dataReuters confirmed internal use but could not determine data inputs or government chargesTrump-appointed homeland security secretary · documented · 1 source
  7. Noem's DHS publishes a list under Trump's sanctuary-jurisdiction orderSanctuary-jurisdiction list issued May 29, 2025cabinet official implementing Trump's immigration order · documented · 1 source
  8. A $100,000 signoff rule delayed federal Texas flood support more than 72 hoursInternal records tied the deployment delay to secretary-level spending approvalTrump-appointed homeland security secretary · documented · 1 source

    more than 72 hoursTexas flood response deployment delay

  9. FEMA left nearly two-thirds of Texas flood-survivor calls unansweredInternal documents showed thousands of survivor calls went unansweredTrump-appointed homeland security secretary · documented · 1 source

    nearly two-thirds percentTexas flood-survivor calls unanswered

  10. DHS awards ad contracts to Republican-linked firms under NoemContract awards reported; procurement defended at congressional hearingreported · 1 source
    1. commitmentReported awards to People Who Think$77 million
      Reported commitment source
      U.S. Department of Homeland Security
      Reported intended recipient
      People Who Think
      reported · 2026-03-04 · observedRead source record
      Calculation detailsPopulation DHS advertising contract awards to People Who Think reported March 4, 2026Period 2026-03-04 to 2026-03-04Basis Separate recipient-level contract award amount reported by Reuters from federal records; reporting-date snapshot, not an expenditure-period total.Limits Reported award value, not verified cash outlay, contractor profit, personal payment to Noem, or proven taxpayer loss. The two recipient amounts are components of the campaign total; do not add the campaign total again.
    2. commitmentReported awards to Safe America Media$143 million
      Reported commitment source
      U.S. Department of Homeland Security
      Reported intended recipient
      Safe America Media
      reported · 2026-03-04 · observedRead source record
      Calculation detailsPopulation DHS advertising contract awards to Safe America Media reported March 4, 2026Period 2026-03-04 to 2026-03-04Basis Separate recipient-level contract award amount reported by Reuters from federal records; reporting-date snapshot, not an expenditure-period total.Limits Reported award value, not verified cash outlay, contractor profit, personal payment to Noem, or proven taxpayer loss. The two recipient amounts are components of the campaign total; do not add the campaign total again.

    $220 millionReported DHS advertising awards to two recipients · 2026-03-04

  11. Senators seek records from DHS ad contractors tied to Noem's circleCongressional information requests issueddocumented · 1 source
  12. Judiciary leaders refer Noem's testimony to DOJ for investigationInvestigation requested; allegation is not a criminal charge or findingdocumented · 1 source
  13. DHS staffing changed about 1 percent while most major agencies shrankDHS had roughly a 1-percent workforce change over the GAO periodTrump-appointed homeland security secretary · documented · 1 source
Roles and relationships

Status

  1. Former homeland security secretaryoffice / 2025-01-25–2026-03-233 sources · Source

Relationships

  1. Donald J. Trump

    Relationship to Trumphomeland security secretary in Trump's second administration

    politicalFull record · 3 sources
  2. Donald J. Trump

    Trump-appointed homeland security secretary

    politicalFull record · 1 source
  3. Donald J. Trump

    Trump-appointed homeland security secretary

    politicalFull record · 1 source
  4. Donald J. Trump

    Trump-appointed homeland security secretary

    politicalFull record · 1 source
  5. Donald J. Trump

    Trump-appointed homeland security secretary

    politicalFull record · 1 source
  6. Donald J. Trump

    Trump-appointed homeland security secretary

    politicalFull record · 1 source
  7. Donald J. Trump

    Trump-appointed homeland security secretary

    politicalFull record · 1 source
  8. Donald J. Trump

    Trump-appointed homeland security secretary

    politicalFull record · 1 source
  9. Donald J. Trump

    Trump-appointed homeland security secretary

    politicalFull record · 1 source
  10. Donald J. Trump

    cabinet official implementing Trump's immigration order

    legalpoliticalFull record · 1 source
  11. Federal Emergency Management Agency

    centralized payment approval under Noem and DOGE controls

    politicalFull record · 2 sources
  12. Federal Emergency Management Agency

    delayed response resources through a $100,000 signoff threshold

    politicalFull record · 2 sources
Source: Tia Dufour / United States Department of Homeland Security · Rights/use: Public domain under 17 U.S.C. § 105 as a United States federal government work · Modified: cropped and resized