ICT Staff
WASHINGTON — President Donald J. Trump has replaced Kristi Noem with Oklahoma Sen. Markwayne Mullin as the next U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security.
Trump made the announcement on Truth Social Thursday afternoon.
“I am pleased to announce that the Highly Respected United States Senator from the Great State of Oklahoma, Markwayne Mullin, will become the United States Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS), effective March 31, 2026,” Trump wrote. “Markwayne will make a spectacular Secretary of Homeland Security.”
If confirmed by the Senate, Mullin, a Cherokee Nation citizen, will be the second Native American man to be in the president’s cabinet, the first Native person to be Homeland Security secretary, and the second Native person to run an agency.
He follows the footsteps of previous Native Americans in the presidential cabinet: former Vice President Charles Curtis, Kaw Nation, and former U.S. Secretary of Interior Deb Haaland, Laguna Pueblo.
Curtis served as vice president under former President Herber Hoover. At that time, the vice president post was also part of the presidential cabinet. Haaland served under the Biden administration for four years.
Mullin became the first Native American man to serve in the U.S. Senate since the late Ben Knighthorse Campbell, who served as Colorado’s senator from 1993 to 2005.
Mullin served in the U.S. House from 2013 to 2023 before becoming senator in 2023.
Rep. Tom Cole, R-Oklahoma, welcomed the news on X.
“Congratulations to my fellow Oklahoman and Native American, @SenMullin, on becoming the next Secretary of Homeland Security,” Cole, a citizen of the Chickasaw Nation of Oklahoma, wrote. “Markwayne has been an instrumental leader in Oklahoma, consistently pushing conservative policies that have benefited the American people. I have no doubt he will do the same as a part of the Trump Administration. Congratulations my friend!”
Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin also congratulated Mullin and said it’s “deeply encouraging” to have someone in a leadership role who understands federal Indian policy, law, and justice.
“The Cherokee Nation extends its warmest congratulations to Cherokee Nation citizen and Westville native Markwayne Mullin on this historic appointment as the United States Secretary of Homeland Security,” he wrote on social media. “Senator Mullin’s dedicated service in the U.S. Senate has demonstrated his unwavering commitment to progress and the well-being of all communities, including Indian Country.”
He continued: “Having a Cherokee Nation citizen serve within the United States Cabinet is a mark of high esteem for our tribe. It stands as a testament to the resilience, capability, and enduring impact of our people. We are confident in Secretary Mullin’s ability to lead with historic responsibility and look forward to the positive, unifying impact his unique perspective will bring to the nation.”
Haaland gave her reaction on social media too.
“Took long enough. Kristi Noem spent the last year tearing families apart and robbing disaster funding from New Mexicans. But don’t be fooled — Trump isn’t done pushing his chaos,” Haaland wrote. “We must elect leaders who will stand up to this cruelty. Anyone who wants to harm our people will have to come through me, and I’ll fight tooth and nail to protect our state.”
Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, White Earth Nation, responded to the announcement.
“Don’t let the door hit you on the way out. Just because you got fired, Minnesotans won’t forget what you did to our neighbors. We will continue to fight for you to be held accountable,” Flanagan wrote. “This is a move many of us have organized for. Trump’s DHS has killed two Minnesotans, terrorized our immigrant communities, detained citizens, and traumatized our children.”
She continued: “But make no mistake – changing the head of this agency will not change the direction of his mass deportation agenda. It’s time to rip ICE apart.”
Trump said that Noem “will be moving to be Special Envoy for The Shield of the Americas, our new Security Initiative in the Western Hemisphere we are announcing on Saturday in Doral, Florida.”
“I thank Kristi for her service at ‘Homeland,’” Trump wrote.
Noem returned the thanks to the president for her new appointment on social media and said she will “be able to build on the partnerships and national security expertise, I forged over the last 13 months as Secretary of Homeland Security,” in the new position.
As for her time at DHS, she touted her accomplishments during her tenure.
“we delivered the MOST secure border in American history, 3 million illegal aliens have left the U.S., we have located 145,000 children, FEMA delivered disaster relief at a 100% faster rate, we ushered in the golden age of travel, saved the American taxpayer $13 billion and revitalized the U.S. Coast Guard,” Noem wrote in the post.
Calls and emails to David Flute, senior tribal advisor for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and a citizen of the Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate, for comment were not immediately returned.
Noem, former governor of South Dakota, was appointed Homeland Security security on Jan. 25, 2025.
Noem left her seat as South Dakota governor for the position. Her time as South Dakota governor was marked with controversy, particularly when it came to her relationships with the nine Oceti Sakowin (Lakota, Dakota, Nakoda) tribes in the state.
Following a string of disparaging remarks in early 2024 regarding alleged cartel involvement amongst tribal leaders and claims that Native parents were “failing” their children, Noem was banished from all nine reservations in the state. She is still banished from seven of the nine tribal nations.
Since then, her relationship with tribal leaders has continued to degrade. A handful of Native American people were detained during Operation Metro Surge, in which thousands of immigration agents descended upon the Twin Cities and conducted historic immigration raids.
ICT has collected accounts of several Native people being detained by ICE with documentation. The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and Red Lake Nation have both issued public notices saying tribal enrolled citizens were detained by immigration officials in Minneapolis. Standing Rock noted one tribal citizen’s detainment, while Red Lake noted three detainments of enrolled citizens.
In response, Noem penned a letter to tribal leaders and citizens on Feb. 12 claiming that reports of detained citizens of federally recognized tribes by immigration agents was “false” and “misinformation.”
Throughout the first week of March, Noem testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee concerning Operation Metro Surge. Noem reported that only 18 Americans have been detained by ICE, a claim that senators pushed back on, referencing a ProPublica report prior to Operation Metro Surge that detailed over 100 Americans who had been detained.
Noem also said the Americans detained in Minneapolis were taken into custody for obstructing law enforcement operations.
The U.S. Senate will have to confirm Trump’s nomination of Mullin.
Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt, Cherokee Nation citizen, will appoint Mullin’s replacement until there is a special election.
This is a developing story. Come back to www.ictnews.org for updates.