GOP Senator Slams Noem for ‘Failure of Leadership’

Sen. Thom Tillis accused Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem of “failure of leadership” and called for her resignation during a hearing on Capitol Hill Tuesday.

“We’re an exceptional nation, and one of the reasons we’re exceptional is we expect exceptional leadership, and you’ve demonstrated anything but that,” the Republican senator from North Carolina told Noem.

Tillis specifically accused Noem of failing to “acknowledge when mistakes are made and speaking too soon for the expediency of social media.”

Critics have highlighted Noem’s characterization of two fatal shootings of protesters by immigration enforcement agents in Minneapolis. Noem and her agency justified the shootings by calling protesters’ actions “domestic terrorism,” a characterization that drew widespread backlash.

Tillis also claimed that the Department of Homeland Security, under Noem’s leadership, is “missing an opportunity” to find and arrest illegal aliens who pose a security risk to the United States and American citizens, arguing that the Trump administration is more concerned with the number of arrests instead of the “quality” of arrests.

“And what we’ve seen is a disaster under your leadership, Ms. Noem, a disaster,” Tillis said.

The homeland security agency says it has “arrested 43,305 potential national security risks” since President Donald Trump returned to the White House. “[Immigration and Customs Enforcement] has arrested 1,416 known or suspected terrorists and has removed 1,392 [known or suspected terrorists], and more than 7,000 gang arrests,” the agency claims.

During Tuesday’s hearing, Tillis, who is not seeking reelection, brought up a widely reported story told in Noem’s memoir, “No Going Back,” in which she explains she shot and killed her hunting dog after she believed the dog underperformed.

“You decided to kill that dog because you had not invested the appropriate time and training. And then you have the audacity to go into a book and say it’s a leadership lesson about tough choices,” Tillis said, adding that the incident demonstrates “bad decisions made in the heat of the moment, not unlike what happened up in Minneapolis.”

Tillis did not give Noem an opportunity to respond to the accusations.

The hearing, titled “Oversight of the Department of Homeland Security,” comes just days after the U.S. launched joint strikes with Israel on Iranian military and political facilities, in Operation Epic Fury. The joint attack resulted in the death of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

The attack on Iran has raised concerns over Iran possibly activating terrorist cells in the U.S.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection encountered nearly 400 illegal aliens with “terrorism-related records” between ports of entry during the Biden administration, according to the agency’s data.

“Do you think the threat level against the United States is up or down when it comes to radical Islamic terrorists?” Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., asked Noem on Tuesday.

“Yes,” Noem answered.

DHS is partially shut down right now due to Congress failing to pass a bill to fund the agency. Republicans and Democrats did not reach a funding agreement due to Democrats’ demands for ICE changes, including requiring agents not to wear masks.

“Only God knows how many people are here and what they’re up to, and we’re not going to stop,” Graham said. “We’re going to learn, but we’re not going to stop because America is under siege, and the idea we’re not funding DHS is insane, criminally insane.”

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