Former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem might not just be out of a job — she could be looking at serious legal trouble.
President Donald Trump stunned Washington when he fired Noem Thursday, but the firing may be the least of her worries. According to Trump, Noem lied under oath to Congress — a federal crime that could land her in prison.
The controversy centers on a $220 million DHS advertising campaign that featured Noem riding a horse in front of Mount Rushmore. Noem had told Congress she had Trump’s personal approval for the campaign. But Trump said he never signed off on it, contradicting her sworn testimony.
“I never knew anything about it,” Trump told Reuters.
Democratic strategist Matt McDermott flagged Trump’s comments on X: “The President of the United States is accusing Kristi Noem of committing perjury, a federal crime,” he wrote.
Before this scandal, Noem’s tenure at the Department of Homeland Security was already under fire. She faced bipartisan criticism for botching immigration operations, spending millions on taxpayer-funded ad campaigns, and allegedly stonewalling oversight investigations.
Trump’s move to fire her came amid reports that he was furious about Noem throwing him under the bus during her testimony.
Former Politico reporter Rachel Bade summed it up bluntly: “NOEM screwed up DHS response to Pretti killing, stonewalled IG investigations, has seen allegations of inappropriate relations with aide Lewandowski, bought luxury jet fleet, and spent a ton on ads starring hers truly. But in the end the thing that did her in was throwing her boss under the bus.”
Trump has already announced that Sen. Markwayne Mullin will replace Noem as head of the Department of Homeland Security. But with the president publicly claiming she broke federal law, the controversy is far from over.
Whether the United States Department of Justice will actually pursue a perjury case against Noem remains unknown, but the accusation alone has thrown her future into serious legal jeopardy.
