'We’ve seen the Instagram photos': Inside the 5 most revealing moments from Kristi Noem's testimony
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem appeared before the House Committee on Homeland Security again on Monday where Democrats took her to task for alleged department failures and outrages.
Democrats pounced on accusations that Noem was burning through unappropriated DHS money for colorful photo ops and multi-million-dollar plane purchases, inflicting additional cruelty on pregnant women and new mothers and deporting innocent college students for exercising their freedom of speech. One of the most notorious, however, appeared to be Noem’s lack of understanding about habeas corpus, which critics accuse her administration of violating.
Here are five of the most firecracker moments from early in the hearing, as reported by MSNBC.
1.Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.) confronts Noem over habeas corpus violations.
Hassan began her line of questions with a simple inquiry.
“What is habeas corpus,” she asked.
Noem answered: “Habeas corpus is a constitutional right the president has to be able to remove people form this country, suspend their right to—"
At that point, Hassan cut her off: “Excuse me. That’s incorrect.”
“President Lincoln used it—”
“Excuse me. Habeus Corpus is the legal principle that requires the government provide a public reason for detaining and imprisoning people,” Hassan explained. “If not for that protection the government could simply arrest people, including American citizens and hold them indefinitely for no reason. Habeus corpus is the foundational right that separates free societies like America from police state like North Korea. … Do you support the core protection that habeas corpus provides?”
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“I recognize the president of the United States has the authority under the Constitution to decide if it should be suspended or not.”
“It has never been done without the approval of Congress. Even Abraham Lincoln got retroactive approval from Congress,” Hassan corrected.
2.Sen. Andy Kim (D-N.J) also confronts Noem over habeas corpus violations.
Kim launched his own legal test questions, beginning with: “How many times has habeas corpus been suspended in our country?”
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“Once that I know of,” Noem answered.
“Four times,” corrected Kim, “and the incidents you’re referring to are ones where the courts subsequently showed that Congress is the one that has that ability (to suspend it.) Do you know what section of the Constitution the suspension clause (exists)?
“I do not. Nope,” Noem answered.
“Do you know which article it is in?” he pressed.
Noem: "No, I do not.”
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3.Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn) asks if Noem’s department will "run out of money."
Blumenthal reminded Noem of “$200 million” that Noem’s department spent on “an ad campaign fawning over Trump’s supposed accomplishments," as well as $21 million her department spent “between Jan and April for transporting around 400 immigrants to Guantanamo Bay, half of them flown back.” He also cited $6 million her department spent to imprison 300 individuals in El Salvador and $1,000 payments to individual migrants helping them pay for “self-deportation’ back to their home countries
“None of these expenditures are in your present budget,” Blumenthal added. “Aren’t you going to run out of money?”
“All the dollars are being spent as authorized, appropriately,” Noem said.
“Well, none of that has been authorized under the continuing resolution or any other way we authorize money. You’re just spending recklessly and it would seem wastefully without authorization against the law. … You operate under the authorization that this committee provides," he said.
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“The American people told us to do this job,” Noem insisted.
“They did not tell you to act outside your legal authority and spend money that is not in your budget, authorized by this Congress," Blumenthal remarked.
4.Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) points out that Noem’s department is financially broke.
Following up Blumenthal’s argument, Gallego told Noem: “Your department is on track to run out of money by mid-July.”
“You support a massive deportation campaign that can’t be afforded," he continued. "But at the same time, you’ve requested a $50 million allotment for a private Gulfstream jet … for taxpayers to subsidize your national tours. … How can you justify $50 million for a jet?”
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“We are appending appropriately and on budget,” Noem countered. “When you referenced the Air Frame (video suggests Noem repeatedly described the ‘Gulfstream model’ jet as an ‘Air Frame’) … that’s for the Coast Guard, to replace an existing jet over 20 years old and beyond its usable hours. The Coast Guard has been neglected, and has many [planes] that have been grounded….”
“Are you going to have access to that $50 million Gulf Stream jet that the Coast Guard is going to supply?” Gallego pressed.
“The Coast Guard will use the jet exactly how it uses the jets it has today," she said.
“Will you be using it consistently to travel?” he asked.
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“I don’t know if I would use that one or another one … but we do spend time out there with our components, making sure they know they have a secretary that is engaged with them," she said.
“Oh, yeah. We’ve seen the Instagram photos,” Gallego retorted.
5. Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) and Blumenthal press Noem to admit to deporting U.S. citizens and depriving pregnant women of natal care.
Slotkin had her own target in mind when it came her turn to dress down the secretary, insisting Noem admit her department has deported U.S. citizens, something Noem was loathe to do.
“We have not deported US citizens,” Noem insisted.
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“Have any American citizens, including children, been deported during your time in office?”
“We have children that mothers have chosen to keep with them,” Noem admitted.
“By my calculations, 10 American citizens, including children with cancer, have been deported out of the country," she said. "I understand you’re saying it’s their choice, but it’s hard to imagine a small child having a choice.”
Slotkin also challenged Noem for rounding up innocent U.S. residents in the department's mass deportations. “… Your opening statement is that you’ve gone after the most dangerous illegal immigrants. Does that include [unarmed] PhD and Masters students at colleges across the country? Are they the most dangerous illegal [immigrants]?”
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“I don’t decide who gets status through a student program. This department decides that and we enforce,” Noem argued.
“Oh, come on,” replied Slotkin. “I have no qualms with going after folks who are here illegally. That is not my concern. … My concern is you’re sending a chill down the spine of America going after people with legal status in America. … We can review the tape that you said [habeas corpus] is a right the president has. … You sat here and swore an oath to the Constitution and that is not at all what habeas corpus is. It is a right we all get, that all American citizens get, that people who are legally here have.”
“You’re going after folks for political reasons,” Slotkin said.
Blumenthal added to the heat by swinging at Noem’s Customs and Border Patrol quietly rescinding their policy for ‘processing pregnant and post-partum noncitizens and infants.”
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“Do you agree or disagree that pregnant women and babies … in ICE custody should receive care tailored to their specific need and why in God’s name would that policy be rescinded?” he asked.
“We are making accommodations for individuals that have different physical needs," Noem said.
“But that’s not happening,” Blumenthal insisted. “… Do you know about that policy change?”
“I do know about the policy change," Noem replied.
“How could you let that happen?” Blumenthal pressed.
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