Is Kristi Noem About to Get Fired?
There could be a major switch-up at the Department of Homeland Security “really soon.”
In a drastic turn of events, Donald Trump is reportedly considering replacing DHS Secretary Kristi Noem with outbound Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin. That could make Noem the first person to be pushed out of Trump’s second-term Cabinet.
Noem has unquestioningly carried out practically every element of the president’s immigration agenda and endlessly fawned over his leadership. Last week, Noem nonsensically thanked Trump for keeping hurricanes at bay since he returned to office. Yet none of that has been enough to keep her in the administration’s good graces, because even while Trump may be satisfied with her performance, top White House officials have become increasingly frustrated with Noem’s sphere of influence—specifically, the tenure of her chief adviser, Corey Lewandowski, reported The Bulwark.
Three former DHS officials with ties to the current staff told the digital publication that the changeover could happen “really soon,” giving the term-limited Youngkin a future in Washington.
CNN reported in late November that Youngkin has “expressed more interest in an economic or business portfolio, rather than one focused on immigration” but would still be “excited by the prospect of joining the Cabinet.”
Lewandowski denied The Bulwark’s report, commenting to the outlet that “none of that is true.”
Exactly what a Noem exit means for DHS—or the president’s immigration agenda—is not clear, though political analysts predict that Youngkin could be less abrasive than his predecessor, a woman who bragged about killing her dog in order to curry favor with the 2024 Republican presidential nominee.
“If he gets the gig, he probably won’t be as flashily cruel as Noem has been,” argued The New Republic’s editor, Michael Tomasky. “But there’s every reason to think that he’ll do just what Stephen Miller tells him to do—if only because he’s leaving Richmond with his political future in shambles and needs to revive his career. If the Trump Cabinet is his meal ticket, he’ll follow orders.”
DHS staffers, meanwhile, are reportedly looking forward to the leadership change.
“Things are fucked” at the department, a former staffer relayed on behalf of a current DHS official to The Bulwark. “It’s horrible.”
“‘They’re going to destroy this place. I’m just hoping the new secretary gets here in time.’”
President Trump is almost certainly supporting Paramount’s hostile takeover bid to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery, which includes CNN.
After Netflix announced they were acquiring the media and entertainment company in an $83 billion cash-and-stock deal Friday, Paramount on Monday announced a $108.4 billion cash offer in a takeover bid that reeks of Trump’s cooperation. Trump was asked over the weekend if he thought Netflix should be allowed to make the deal, and he flat-out said he would be involved in the ultimate decision.
“They have a very big market share. And when they have Warner Bros. you know that share goes up a lot, so I don’t know, that’s going to be for some economists to tell and also I’ll be involved in that decision too,” Trump said at the Kennedy Center Honors.
Q: Should Netflix be allowed to buy Warner Brothers?
TRUMP: That's a question. They have a very big market share. I'll be involved in that decision pic.twitter.com/pEgMxKi2XP
Paramount CEO David Ellison went on CNBC Monday morning to talk about Paramount’s bid, and tried to play coy about how Trump would feel about Ellison taking over CNN, a news network that Trump has railed against over “unfair” coverage.
“We’ve had great conversations with the president about this, but I don’t want to speak for him in any way, shape or form,” Ellison said. Those great conversations have reportedly involved which CNN hosts to fire if Ellison takes over the network and putting CBS’s 60 Minutes on CNN.
Paramount’s takeover bid also involves Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, specifically his private equity firm Affinity Partners, as well as sovereign wealth funds from Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi, and Qatar. Paramount conveniently left that out of the press release announcing the takeover.
Paramount’s owners, Larry Ellison and his son David, are staunch Trump supporters and are building a right-wing media empire, having CBS in their Paramount portfolio, acquiring the anti-woke publication The Free Press, and also bringing TikTok under U.S. ownership to push pro-Israel views.
All of this suggests that Trump, through the Ellisons, is trying to force mainstream media outlets into submission and cease critical coverage. Netflix’s co-CEO Ted Sarandos may have helped his Warner Bros. deal thanks to private meetings with the president, but if it comes down to a choice between that or having the Ellisons take over CNN with his son-in-law’s help to make it pro-Trump, it’s clear what Trump would prefer.
The online MAGA-verse were at each other’s throats more than usual this weekend, as right-wing commentators Benny Johnson, Milo Yiannopoulos, and Tucker Carlson were all points of controversy.
The first tiff started on Saturday, when Yiannopoulos—who has made a name for himself as an openly gay far-right bigot—accused multiple conservative influencers like Johnson and Charlie Kirk of being closeted gay men on Tim Pool’s podcast with swindler and former MAGA Representative George Santos, who is also gay.
“One of the most distinctive things about the right-wing in this country is its homosexual overtones. Benny Johnson posts pictures of his children every two days—it’s weird. And everybody knows what went on with Benny Johnson in those lobbies and those hotel rooms at SAS. Everybody knows,” said Yiannopoulos.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Santos replied.
“Men, younger men. Not underage, at least I don’t know that. His wife was crying drunk in the lobby three SAS’s in a row about how her husband was upstairs with boys,” Yiannopoulos claimed. “Go ask her.”
“Come on, Milo, aren’t you ever scared of getting sued?” Santos asked.
Far right influencer, Milo Yannopoulos, alleged that Benny Johnson, Charlie Kirk and other top maga leaders are closet homosexuals
“His wife was in the lobby crying while he was upstairs with boys.”pic.twitter.com/vXDQuNWfch
Yiannopoulos insisted he was telling the truth, and that he’d never been........© New Republic





















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