Former acting DHS chief on Noem’s ouster: ‘We saw this coming’

Former acting Department of Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf on Friday said “we saw this coming” after President Trump announced he was replacing Kristi Noem as DHS chief.

“There have been a series of unfortunate incidents that have overshadowed the great success and progress the Trump Administration has made when it comes to securing the border and removing dangerous people from the country,” Wolf told hosts John Catsimatidis and Rita Cosby on the Cats & Cosby Show on WABC 770.

“This is an issue that the President should be winning on by large numbers,” he added. “I think they were looking at all this and decided to make a change.”

The president, in a post on Truth Social, said Noem would be reassigned to a new role as special envoy for “The Shield of the Americas.” He also announced that Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) was his pick to replace her.

Wolf pointed to Trump’s decision to place White House border czar Tom Holman in charge of immigration enforcement in Minnesota in January after two protesters were shot and killed by federal agents, an indication of Trump’s lack of trust in Noem to lead the department.

Sources familiar with the president’s thinking also confirmed Thursday that Trump considered firing Noem after the shootings but held off because he did not want to appear as though he was giving into Democrats’ demands. 

“Obviously, President Trump decided that they needed a change in direction and a change of leadership,” Wolf said in the interview. “We saw this coming when he put Tom Homan in charge in Minneapolis.” 

Trump’s final straw to before ousting Noem was her assertion that he approved a $220 million ad campaign promoting the former South Dakota governor’s leadership at DHS, according to Republican senators and other sources familiar.

“There’s been conversations going on, I think, for a while and I haven’t been privy to all of them but I’m aware of some of the discussions,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) said Thursday. 

Trump on Thursday pushed back on Noem’s assertion that he supported the pricy add.

Wolf also criticized Democrats for blocking efforts to fund DHS, which has been shut down for nearly three weeks.

Democrats have largely remained firm in their demand for reform to tactics Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers use when carrying out its operations after federal agents shot and killed two U.S. citizens earlier this year.

The bill passed through the House on Thursday afternoon, mostly along party lines, and now heads to the Senate. Four Democrats in the lower chamber voted to move it forward.

“What’s it going to take for [the Democrats] to come to their senses? The question is: Do they have senses?” Wolf said. “A lot of those ‘reforms’ that they put forward and are still advocating for are not serious reforms.”

“These are things that would neuter ICE agents and officers from doing their job. In large part, that’s what the Democrats want,” the former DHS leader said. “They don’t like immigration enforcement. They never have.”

Wolf added that the department needs to have full funding after the U.S. and Israel launched strikes on Iran last weekend and amid rising fears of a wider conflict in the region.

“It’s hard to imagine that the United States can potentially be at war with a country like Iran and not have the Department fully funded,” he told the hosts. “The threats facing the homeland … are real. We need all employees of the Department fully focused on their mission, and not wondering about … their next paycheck.”

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