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US President Donald Trump has fired Kristi Noem, his homeland security secretary, and nominated Oklahoma Republican Senator Markwayne Mullin as her replacement.
Trump announced the move on Thursday afternoon in a post to his Truth Social platform. The president called Mullin “highly respected” and said he would take over running the Department of Homeland Security on March 31.
Trump said Noem had “served us well” and “had numerous spectacular results,” adding she would take on a new role as “special envoy for the shield of the Americas”.
Trump had faced mounting pressure to fire Noem over her handling of the White House’s mass deportation efforts. The former South Dakota governor had stoked controversy amid public backlash to the administration’s heavy-handed immigration enforcement tactics.
This is a developing story.