Kristi Noem, the former head of the Department of Homeland Security, is scarcely turning up for her new post at the State Department, fueling chatter in Washington and beyond that she could be headed back to South Dakota.
A fresh report indicates that four of Noem’s DHS aides who followed her to the State Department in her role as special envoy to the Shield of the Americas have been placed on administrative leave by the White House.
The Daily Mail, citing anonymous sources within the agency, reports that Noem’s former deputy chief of staff, Troup Hemenway, ex-deputy general counsel Giovanna Cinelli, and junior staffers Josh King and Octavian Miller are all on leave.
The sources identified by the outlet as senior State Department officials noted that Noem held only one meeting during the week of April 6, and it occurred virtually.
Noem’s Showy Spending Spree Draws Fire — Now Trump Is In the Thick of It as the White House Rejects a Key Demand in a Full-Blown Cover-Up Clash
They also indicated that with staffing reductions and no clear direction for the new Shield of the Americas project, it wouldn’t be surprising if Noem’s attempted soft landing after being dismissed as DHS chief hardens into a sobering reality.
“This post was meant to provide a soft landing so it wouldn’t look like Noem was being fired right away,” one agency source said.
Noem was terminated in a social media post last month, in what marked President Donald Trump’s first Cabinet shake-up of his second term.
MSN readers had a lot to say not only about her exit but about her standing at the State Department.
“Noem’s new position seemed aimed at smoothing Trump’s image. It spared him from admitting he bungled things and that real experience and knowledge still matter,” one reader observed.
Another offered a blunt take on Noem’s political prospects:
“Noem isn’t the first person to see a political career end because of their ties to Trump, and she certainly won’t be the last. I’m confident all of Trump’s current cabinet members will end up as political or personal outcasts by the end of his term.”
MSN reader Robert Wright also weighed in, offering a pointed note on the envoy role.
“I’d thought this envoy position was just a ceremonial consolation prize, but apparently you’re still expected to show up, hold meetings, and at least pretend to take the job seriously. Even symbolic roles require you to demonstrate you can do the work.”
Another reader, Dr. Midnight, summed up the situation with irony: “I guess hiring people who aren’t qualified for jobs and then giving them new, similarly unqualified roles when they stumble—while being paid by taxpayers—fits the ‘draining the swamp’ promise Trump made.”
“Many will disagree, but I firmly believe this woman was chosen as a sacrificial lamb to bear political heat off the White House,” wrote Carl Griffin. “A system once beloved by her turned on her. That’s the state of politics in this country today, on both sides of the aisle. No wonder decent people don’t want to run for office.”
What seemed to seal Noem’s fate after months of turmoil at DHS over deadly immigration raids and responses to rising public worries about the crackdown wasn’t the January Minneapolis shootings by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, but her congressional testimony in early March.
Noem, the first woman elected governor of South Dakota in 2018, testified that Trump had approved a government advertising blitz costing more than any in a decade, aside from COVID-19 and military recruitment—an assertion the president swiftly denied before publicly firing her on social media.
The $220 million campaign spot featured Noem riding a horse in full cowgirl makeup before Mount Rushmore, and after her testimony, a congressional inquiry revealed she had given herself a $60,000 signing bonus as well, according to lawmakers reported by The Hill in late March.
The production itself—which showcased the former Republican congresswoman promoting an approach urging undocumented migrants to depart—proved costly for taxpayers, including expenses for hair, makeup, and horse rentals.
Most of the funds remain unaccounted for.
