Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) absolutely tore into Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem during a fiery 10-minute tirade at the Senate Judiciary Committee, leaving no topic untouched—from botched immigration enforcement to deadly mishaps and even the killing of one of her own dogs.
“I’m giving you a performance evaluation here—I’m not looking for a response,” Tillis barked, his frustration radiating across the room. “Time after time after time, I’ve been disappointed.”
The North Carolina Republican, who’s retiring at the end of his term, slammed Noem for holding up federal emergency funding, allegedly violating citizens’ rights during immigration enforcement, and stonewalling independent oversight—all reasons he says justify calling for her resignation.
“We just want numbers. A thousand a day, 6,000 a day, 9,000 a day—because numbers matter, right? No. Quality matters. Not quantity. Quality. And what we’ve seen under your leadership, Ms. Noem, is a disaster,” Tillis declared, pointing to cases where American citizens were wrongly detained.
He didn’t stop there. The senator also confronted Noem over the deaths of Minnesotans Renee Good and Alex Pretti during DHS operations.
“Why can’t we just admit a mistake?” Tillis asked. “The way you’re going about deportations is wrong, and your refusal to face the facts means tragedies like Renee Good and Alex Pretti shouldn’t have happened. Law enforcement needs clear protocols, and right now, those protocols aren’t being followed.”
Tillis called for the Justice Department to launch a civil rights investigation into Good’s death to match the one already underway for Pretti.
The senator also criticized Noem’s handling of Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) funds, accusing her of stalling disaster reimbursements in North Carolina by requiring her signature on spending over $100,000.
“I’m convinced you can’t do it,” Tillis said, pointing to a chart showing FEMA reimbursements plummeting under the current administration. “Why would you be involved in this? Why would that be policy?”
He accused her of violating the Homeland Security Act of 2002, which explicitly prohibits the secretary from restricting or diverting FEMA resources.
Tillis also brought up “Charlotte’s Web,” a DHS immigration raid in North Carolina, noting that Noem has delayed providing requested information for over a month.
“I have 10 separate instances from the Office of Inspector General where your department misled investigators and blocked critical oversight,” Tillis said, earning scattered applause in the hearing room. “That is stonewalling. That is a failure of leadership. And that is why I’m calling for your resignation.”
The tirade took a personal turn when Tillis criticized an anecdote from Noem’s book in which she killed her 14-month-old dog.
“Secretary, a 14-month-old dog is basically a teenager in dog years. You killed that dog because you hadn’t trained it properly and then framed it as a leadership lesson? That’s not leadership—that’s a bad decision made in the heat of the moment, much like what happened in Minneapolis,” Tillis said.
Noem only spoke once during Tillis’s tirade, confirming that border czar Tom Homan reports directly to President Trump.
The video of Tillis’s searing rebuke is already going viral (see it below).
