In a Senate hearing on Wednesday, Kristi Noem was grilled about a $220 million 'vanity' deportation advertising campaign, with reports indicating she told Senator John Kennedy that President Donald Trump had given her approval for the media blitz. However, President Donald Trump said he never knew anything about the $220 million deportation advertising campaign. Kristi Noem was out as the head of the Department of Homeland Security hours after Trump's interview.
The political fallout and internal drama led to Noem's removal, with Senator John Kennedy describing Trump as angry in a phone call after Noem's ouster. Susie Wiles, Trump's chief of staff, was sick of the drama and theatrics that followed Kristi Noem and Corey Lewandowski. Multiple Republican senators wanted to see Kristi Noem go, and Senate Democrats refused to move forward on a funding agreement for DHS until Trump signaled he was making changes.
I never knew anything about it.
Trump took the temperature with Senate Republicans over the phone and made the decision to replace Noem quickly. Affair rumors and denials involving Noem and Lewandowski added to the turmoil, with rumors about an extramarital relationship between Kristi Noem and Corey Lewandowski described as an open secret in Washington, though Kristi Noem and Corey Lewandowski have both denied having an affair. Corey Lewandowski's arrival as Noem's senior advisor at DHS ignited an internal war over immigration policy with Tom Homan, Trump's Border Czar.
For potential replacement and funding implications, Trump asked about Oklahoma Senator Markwayne Mullin as a potential replacement for Kristi Noem at DHS, and Republicans enthusiastically endorsed Markwayne Mullin and told Trump his political skills could help navigate confirmation and end the funding logjam. Kristi Noem began her job anxious to deliver on Trump's immigration promises.
He was 'p***ed'.
He was 'mad as a murder hornet.'