U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem is sworn in as she testifies before a Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., March 3, 2026. REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) lost it with Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem during a Tuesday hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, and one reporter thinks he knows why.
Tillis ripped Noem for shooting a puppy, failing to allocate disaster funds and obstructing justice. But, according to The New Republic's Greg Sargent, a letter might provide an important clue about what really motivated Tillis' attack.
The Homeland Security Inspector General wrote a letter saying that leaders under Noem "systematically obstructed" his inquiries, including a "specific pending criminal investigation."
“Does anybody have any idea how bad it has to be for the OIG in this agency to come out and do this publicly?" asked Tillis during the hearing. “That is stonewalling, that’s a failure of leadership, and that is why I’ve called for your resignation.”
The document, confirms quotes from the Wall Street Journal that Inspector General Joseph Cuffari, a Trump appointee, "attempted to access a database controlled by DHS, but was blocked from it unless he revealed details of the investigation to individuals who do not have a need to know, and who may be related somehow to the allegations or individuals under investigation.”
The letter posted by Sargent details 11 instances in which DHS leaders blocked the IG's investigations.
"In one instance, the inspector general said that Customs and Border Protection wouldn't allow his staff to access the database that has 'up-to-date data on CBP's border screening and admitting processes; OIG is unable to independently review data or conduct comprehensive risk analysis,'" the claims said of an incident in May 2025.
TSA denied the inspector general access to look at its Secure Flight System database. It means they couldn't do "risk analysis." Ultimately, they turned over some "data extracts," but the IG said it couldn't validate if they were real.
These weren't the only times CBP, TSA or ICE refused to allow oversight.
"One other key thing: The DHS's inspector general identifies multiple instances in which DHS is restricting access to information related to ICE and CBP, making it impossible for the IG to examine data/procedures. That's crying out for more scrutiny," wrote Sargent.
Another letter sent to Congress in February complained that DHS refused to address “significant” findings about airport security checkpoints that it told Noem about in a classified briefing.
Noem has been criticized over the past year for turning her DHS role into a kind of year-long cosplay photo-op, while ignoring actual homeland security.