Former DHS Secretary Kristi Noem attends a meeting of the FIFA Task Force at the White House in Washington, D.C., May 6, 2025. REUTERS/Kent Nishimura
Former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem did not find her successor’s news conference about Friday’s nationwide airport ground stop impressive. Markwayne Mullin, who replaced Noem after her firing in March, is on the receiving end of much backlash about what caused the multi-hour pause in travel, leaving travelers confused and enraged.
Mullin and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy struggled to answer questions and offered vague explanations of how a “telecommunications outage” contributed to the travel halt. They also did not appear in unison, often contradicting each other.
Noem took to social media to share her thoughts. “I was looking for something encouraging to post about that press conference, the security of our nation, the honesty of our press…” she wrote on X, adding, “And never take tomorrow for granted. Please dear Jesus, bless America and keep us in your hands.” Noem’s post was accompanied by a photo of her granddaughter Addie.
During the press conference, Mullin suggested that new technology that Duffy implemented caused communication errors, and that it was “overwhelming the older system.” Duffy seemingly denied the claims, stating that “all of the new equipment that we put in, none of that went down.”
Questions swirled around whether the incident was triggered by a cyber attack. Mullin’s answers were contradictory, declaring that “there is actually no cyber attack,” but later saying, “there’s nothing completely certain right now.”
Noem was axed from her role in March 2026 as a result of mounting controversies, questions about her ability to lead, and intense scrutiny from lawmakers. Noem faced heavy criticism during Capitol Hill testimony from lawmakers over a $220 million, taxpayer-funded DHS ad campaign featuring her at Mount Rushmore. There were also questions regarding transparency, conflicts of interest, and a luxury jet she used. During her time in the role, there was controversy and fallout from the fatal shootings in Minneapolis amid aggressive federal immigration enforcement operations.
Following her removal, Noem was transitioned into a newly created role as special envoy for the Shield of the Americas, a Western Hemisphere security initiative. She also defended her leadership after her exit.
A Senior Correspondent for TIME would later assess that Noem’s firing was more about optics than anything. Due to the growing backlash and speculation over her, Phillip Ellicott wrote, “At first a favorite of Trump, Noem’s decline came in short order as her personal life, living situation, cratering morale, and leadership feuds all made her a liability.”
