President Donald Trump’s Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem made a bold statement on Tuesday, claiming that the president has the power to suspend habeas corpus — the constitutional right that allows people to challenge their detention in court. But her argument fell apart quickly, as legal experts — and even a Supreme Court justice appointed by Trump — disagreed.
“What is habeas corpus?” Sen. Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire asked Noem during a committee hearing.
“Habeas corpus is a constitutional right that the president has to be able to remove people from this country, and suspend their right to—” Noem began, before a visibly stunned Hassan cut her off.
“Let me stop you,” the Democratic senator interjected. “Excuse me, that is incorrect.”
“President Lincoln used it,” Noem replied, doubling down.
Hassan clarified:
“Habeas corpus is the legal principle that requires the government to provide a public reason for detaining and imprisoning people. If not for that protection, the government could simply arrest people — including American citizens — and hold them indefinitely for no reason.”
Later in the exchange, Noem stood by her claim: “I support habeas corpus. I also recognize that the president of the United States has the authority under the Constitution to decide if it should be suspended or not.”
She added: “I believe that if any president that was able to do that in the past, it should be afforded to our current day president. This president has never said he’s going to do this … but I do think the Constitution allows them the right to consider it.”
That’s when Democratic Senator Andy Kim of New Jersey stepped in.
“Do you know what section of the Constitution, the suspension clause of habeas corpus? Article I,” Kim said. “Do you know which branch of government Article I outlines the tasks and the responsibilities for? Congress.”
CNN fact-checker Daniel Dale later backed up Kim’s interpretation, noting that Article I of the Constitution lays out the powers of Congress, not the president.
“This power to suspend the writ of habeas corpus is in Article I of the Constitution,” Dale explained. “Now, the clause doesn’t specifically say that it is Congress or the president that has the power. It kind of leaves this undefined.”
But there’s a clear legal consensus, Dale added — one confirmed by Justice Amy Coney Barrett, whom Trump appointed to the Supreme Court.
In a piece for the National Constitution Center, Barrett wrote:
“Most agree that only Congress can do it.”
That single line from Barrett directly discredits Noem’s claim.
Dale also highlighted what the Constitution actually says:
“The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in cases of rebellion or invasion the public safety may require it.”
Those are narrow and strict conditions.
“Does it currently require it?” Dale asked. “When the president is boasting that the border is basically closed and no one is getting in? That’s a pretty high hurdle to clear in the courts.”
In the end, Noem’s statement wasn’t just challenged — it was thoroughly discredited by constitutional law, legal experts, and even a conservative Supreme Court justice.
Watch the video below from CNN:
