Image source, Reuters

Kristi Noem has helped enact some of Trump's most notable and controversial policies related to immigration.

She's been the face of large deportation efforts across the US and led the department as it sent immigration enforcement officers to the streets of multiple major US cities.

Here are some of the controversies that followed her during year leading the Department of Homeland Security (DHS):

• Minneapolis immigration enforcement: The influx of federal officers in the city led to protests and the killings of two American citizens by immigration officers - Alex Pretti and Renee Good. The operation in the city and the two deaths led to widespread criticism of DHS from both Democrats and Republicans
• Lots of ads: This also became a point of contention on both sides of the political divide. Noem was questioned about spending millions on ads for the department this week when she appeared before congressional panels. Republican Sen John Kennedy said he was worried about "government waste" and questioned her about whether these ads, many of which she featured in, were approved by the president - a White House source told NBC they were not. One especially controversial appearance by Noem - nicknamed "ICE Barbie" by Democrats - had her standing in front of inmates at El Salvador's most notorious prison
• New jets for DHS: Noem also got heat for jets that were purchased by the department and its encompassing agencies for personnel and deportation efforts. She was repeatedly questioned by Democrats over millions spent for the new aircraft, including luxurious amenities like a private bedroom in one

We're ending out live coverage of the departure of Kristi Noem from the Department of Homeland Security.

The BBC's Daniel Bush reports more about her tenure and reassignment from Washington, DC: Trump cuts his losses on Noem after controversial tenure at homeland security

Amid the replacement of its top secretary, the Department of Homeland Security continues to be mostly shut down - as lawmakers from either side of the aisle have not agreed on a bill to extend its funding.

A short while ago, the US House passed a funding bill for the department but it is unlikely to end the agency's shutdown. The most recent test vote in the US Senate failed 51-45. It needed 60 "yes" votes to succeed.

Democrats have been demanding reforms after federal agents killed Alex Pretti and Renee Good, two Minneapolis residents who were protesting the Trump administration's immigration raids in Minnesota, in January.

They have asked for a number of changes within the DHS including a ban on immigration agents wearing face masks, better identification for officers and stricter rules for obtaining warrants, before they will approve a funding bill.

The shutdown started at midnight on 14 February, and it's unclear how long it will go on.

Read more about what the shutdown means for ordinary Americans here.

Lisa Lambert
BBC News

Image source, Reuters

In his Truth Social post, Trump said Noem will become a special envoy for "The Shield of the Americas, our new Security Initiative in the Western Hemisphere we are announcing on Saturday in Doral, Florida."

The BBC's reporting partner CBS News has confirmed some of what is expected for Saturday.

• 12 leaders from Latin American countries will meet at Trump's golf course in Doral, including Argentina's president, Javier Millei, and El Salvador, Nayib Bukele Ortez
• They will form a coalition to address narcoterrorism gangs, cartels, and mass migration
• Trump and each delegation will sign a charter affirming the right to chart their own destiny free from interference.

NBC News has previously reported that the initiative will encapsulate the work that Trump has done since returning to office with South and Central American counries, which is often referred to as the "Donroe Doctrine", a play on the Monroe Doctrine that the US long followed for Latin America. That work has included arresting and removing Venezuela's leader Nicolas Maduro and taking a hard line on illegal immigration to the US and on cartels.

The House of Representative's top Republican and Democrat have both shared their thoughts on Noem's ousting.

Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson says the vacancy necessitates Democrats to fund the Department of Homeland Security, which has been shut down for weeks because lawmakers on either side of the aisle cannot agree on reforms for DHS agents.

"Today, Democrats will get another chance to do their jobs, protect the American people from threats THEY let into our country, and end the shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security THEY CAUSED. Put the safety and security of Americans first. Fund DHS," Johnson said.

Hakeen Jeffries, the Democratic House Minority Leader, had a much shorter statement.

"ICE Barbie is gone. Good riddance," he wrote above a photo of Noem's emblazoned with the word "fired".

President Donald Trump called Noem before posting on Truth Social that he was replacing her as Homeland Security Secretary with Republican Senator Markwayne Mullin, the BBC's US media partner, CBS News reports.

There had been uncertainty around whether Noem was aware that she had been sacked when she took the stage in Nashville, Tennessee, earlier today for a keynote speech.

Image source, Reuters

Corey Lewandowski, formerly Trump's 2016 campaign adviser, is a special adviser at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and is known to hold great influence in its operations, working closely with Noem.

He is now reportedly also leaving the department as she exits, according to CBS News, the BBC's US partner.

During a House Judiciary Committee hearing this week, Democratic Congresswoman Sydney Kamlager-Dove of California asked Noem if she has had “sexual relations” with Lewandowski

Noem responded saying, “I am shocked we’re peddling tabloid garbage in this committee."

She did not directly respond to the question.

Lewandowski, a Trump ally, has been serving as a “special government employee," a title that has a 130-day limit that he's exceeded.

Image source, Getty Images

Trump's new nominee for the Department of Homeland Security once challenged a witness in a Senate hearing to a fight.

It happened in 2023, when Senator Markwayne Mullin was questioning Teamsters union President Sean O'Brien in a committee hearing.

Mullin brought up a tweet O'Brien had directed at him, saying "You know where to find me. Anyplace, Anytime cowboy.”

“So this is a time, this is a place,” Mullin said. “You wanna run your mouth, we can be two consenting adults. We can finish it here.”

'“Okay, that’s fine,” O’Brien said. “Perfect.”

“You want to do it now?” Mullin asked.

“I’d love to do it right now,” O’Brien said.

“Well, stand your butt up, then,” Mullin said.

“You stand your butt up big guy,” O’Brien said.

Mullin rose to his feet and looked like he might walk over to the witness before then-committee chair, Senator Bernie Sanders, chided him and told him to sit down.

"You're a United States senator," Sanders said. "Sit down."

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey are celebrating Kristi Noem's ousting, but say more needs to be done.

"Kristi Noem has done a stunning amount of damage and it’s good she’s gone. But this doesn’t change the fact that we need a complete overhaul of DHS, impartial investigations into the killings of two American citizens, and information on children that were taken from Minnesota," Walz says.

One of Noem's biggest controversies at the helm of the DHS was her handling of the immigration crackdown in Minneapolis and the shooting death of two US citizens, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, by federal agents.

The mayor and the governor have been among Noem's strongest critics due to her department's immigration enforcement actions.

"Good riddance," Frey wrote on X.

Image source, Getty Images

Corey Lewandowski, Trump's former campaign manager who has been serving as an advisor to the Department of Homeland Security, will also be leaving with Noem, a source familiar told the BBC's US partner CBS News.

Trump also called Noem earlier today to notify her of the shakeup before he posted to Truth Social, the source told CBS.

Image source, Getty Images

At a House hearing yesterday, Democratic congresswoman Becca Balint told Noem she won't be in her position forever, astutely foreshadowing her departure today.

"Americans will get accountability for the damage that you have done, for the lawlessness of aspects of DHS, for killing innocent Americans, for terrorising children," Balint said, criticising her department's handling of immigration operations in Minnesota and elsewhere around the country.

"You are secretary of DHS - for now - and you think you're immune from accountability".

She added, in a post on X, that "one day" Noem "won’t have Trump to hide behind".

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt is now bringing us more of the administration's thoughts on the shakeup today.

"President Trump is grateful to @KristiNoem for helping usher in the most secure border in American history, and he looks forward to her continuing to serve in her new important role," Leavitt wrote on X.

She goes on to say that Senator Mullin is "extraordinarily qualified" and that the White House will work to get him confirmed in the Senate "as quickly as possible".

"President Trump’s immigration agenda is keeping our borders secure and deporting illegal alien criminals from our country, and it will continue without interruption," she said.

Lawmakers with knowledge of the Trump administration have told US media that the president was increasingly unhappy with Kristi Noem's performance as Homeland Security Secretary.

Here's what has been reported:

• Two administration officials told the BBC's partner CBS News that the president was unhappy with her handling of the Minnesota immigration crackdown - including the deaths of two US citizens (Renee Good and Alex Pretti) who were killed by federal immigration agents
• The president was reportedly also angry with Kristi Noem's congressional testimony earlier this week, lawmakers familiar with the situation told NBC News
• Senator John Kennedy told reporters that Trump was unhappy about Noem's responses to questions on her role in approving a $220 million ad campaign encouraging immigrants to self-deport. A White House official told NBC that Trump did not sign off on the campaign
• Lawmakers on both sides of the political aisle have condemned Noem's performance and called for her resignation over the last few months
• A GOP senator told NBC News that Trump has been making calls to asking lawmakers for their input on Noem since last year

Daniel Bush
Washington correspondent

President Donald Trump's decision to replace DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, the face of his immigration agenda, represents a major shift on one of his core domestic issues.

Noem was the point person for the administration's crackdown on undocumented immigrants. She frequently appeared alongside agents in the field conducting enforcement activities, and served as a high-profile voice touting policies that effectively closed the US-Mexico border.

The former South Dakota governor also carried the message abroad, making headlines with a visit to a maximum-security prison in El Salvador that took in some immigrants deported from the US by the administration.

But Noem also courted controversy during her tenure at DHS, and in recent weeks had reportedly begun to lose support inside the administration and with Republicans on Capitol Hill.

Noem's exit may signal the White House understands the public is souring on DHS' immigration enforcement tactics. Polls show a majority of Americans agree with aspects of Trump's broader immigration agenda.

Speaking more to reporters on the steps of the Capitol, Senator Mullin says he will work to convince Congress that he is the right choice to lead the DHS.

"We're going to try to earn everybody's vote," he said

He added that he will put party aside to do his duties as Homeland Security secretary.

"Yes, I'm a Republican, yes I'm conservative," he said, adding that he will work to enforce the policies passed by Congress even for people who don't agree with him. "Once I make that transition, my focus is to keep the homeland secure, that's going to be my focus, and we're super excited about this opportunity."

Image source, Reuters

We're hearing reaction now from some Republicans.

"A change in leadership at the Department of Homeland Security was long overdue," Washington state Representative Dan Newhouse says.

South Carolina's Lindsey Graham says "it was time for a change". On Mullin, Graham says: "President Trump could not have chosen a better candidate to be Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security."

Representative Max Miller of Ohio says: "Homeland Security needs a hard worker like Markwayne. I can think of no better person for this job."

Others also thanked Noem for her service.

"I thank Secretary Noem for her service to our nation and all the work she did to execute President Trump’s agenda to make our southern border and interior safer and more secure than ever before," Alabama Senator Katie Britt says.

Bernd Debusmann Jr
Reporting from the White House

Today marks the first departure of a high-level figure from within Trump's cabinet so far this administration, with the exception of National Security Advisor Mike Waltz - whose job was added to Marco Rubio's already full plate.

Since Trump returned to the White House in January last year, political commentators across the country have remarked that the lack of reshuffling marks a stark departure from his chaotic first term.

Trump's famous TV catchphrase was "you're fired" - and it's one he frequently put to use between 2017 and 2020.

In the first year alone, the administration saw the departure of Acting Attorney General Sally Yates, National Security Advisor Mike Flynn, FBI Director James Comey, Chief of Staff Reince Priebus, chief strategist Steve Bannon and Health Secretary Tom Price, among others.

Two press secretaries - Sean Spicer and Anthony Scaramucci - also lost their jobs in that first year, with the latter taking place after just ten days.

The sackings continued through the administration, right up until December 2020 - just over a month before he left office.

Kristi Noem has made her first public comments after Trump announced her replacement as homeland security secretary.

"Thank you @POTUS Trump for appointing me as the Special Envoy for the Shield of the Americas. @SecRubio and @SecWar are incredible leaders and I look forward to working with them closely to dismantle cartels that have poured drugs into our nation and killed our children and grandchildren," she writes on X.

She adds: "We have made historic accomplishments at the Department of Homeland Security to make America safe again."

Image source, Reuters

A short while ago, Noem wrapped up her speech at an event in Nashville, Tennessee.

She took questions from the audience, but she was not asked about Trump's social media post announcing her replacement, Markwayne Mullin, as homeland security secretary.

Throughout her speech, she highlighted her work at the department and the audience, composed of police from around the country, asked questions related to sanctuary cities and about the best ways to work with federal partners.

In the last few moments, Markwayne Mullin has been speaking to reporters outside the Capitol, where he says he found out he was the new homeland security secretary "a little bit before you guys did".

He adds that he's already spoken with the president and plans to have further discussions with him.

"We're going to get on the same page", he adds.

Image source, Getty Images

We're getting some reaction now from Democratic lawmakers, who welcome Noem's departure, but are reiterating their calls for reform at the Department of Homeland Security.

"Good riddance," writes Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer on social media.

"But the problems at DHS go much deeper than any one person," Schumer adds. "The President must rein in ICE and end the violence."

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries says: "Pam Bondi is next. Keep the pressure on these extremists."

Colorado Senator John Hickenlooper says: "Make no mistake: ICE and Trump’s inhumane immigration agenda needs a complete overhaul".

Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman says he will support Mullin's nomination.

"I’m not sure how many fellow Democrats will vote to support our colleague, Senator Mullins, as the next DHS Secretary, but I am AYE," Fetterman says.

In recent weeks, Fetterman has broken with his party and voted with Republicans on several key issues.