What a dramatic tumble for Kristi Noem, the former head of the Department of Homeland Security. Not only did President Donald Trump embarrassingly cut her loose on social media while she was mid-speech three weeks ago, but the South Dakota Republican has just learned who she’ll report to in her new post with the State Department—and it isn’t the top leader.
According to CBS reporter Olivia Gazis, Noem, in her duties as “Special Envoy to the Shield of the Americas,” a role critics have described as largely ceremonial, isn’t even answerable to Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Instead Gazis notes that Noem’s superior is Deputy Secretary of State Chris Landau.
During congressional testimony earlier this month, Noem told lawmakers that Trump had given the go-ahead to the costliest government advertising blitz in the last decade, aside from the COVID-19 response and military recruitment. Trump promptly disputed the claim before publicly firing her on social media.
The centerpiece advert—priced at $220 million—stars Noem riding a horse in a full cowgirl getup before Mount Rushmore, a production that has sparked further censure along with revelations that she awarded herself a $60,000 signing bonus, lawmakers said Monday, March 23, according to The Hill.
The production alone, designed to sway undocumented migrants toward voluntary departure, cost taxpayers substantial sums for hair, makeup, and horse rental expenses.
The former governor of South Dakota becomes the first Cabinet-level official in Trump’s second term to be removed from office. Yet she downplayed the setback publicly, attempting to preserve her dignity by praising the new post and fawning over Trump as a seasoned professional would.
“Thank you @POTUS Trump for appointing me as the Special Envoy for the Shield of the Americas,” she posted on X on March 5, the very day she was dismissed, but she wasn’t finished, apparently believing she would continue collaborating with prominent Trump allies.
“@SecRubio and @SecWar are remarkable leaders and I look forward to working closely with them to dismantle cartels that have flooded our nation with drugs and harmed our children and grandchildren,” the contrite Noem added, attempting to sound as if she’d just earned a promotion.
Within hours Rubio responded on X with what looked like a congratulatory message, framing her new position as a natural next step. Instead, it came across as a reminder of how far she had fallen—no longer a peer, but someone now embedded within his orbit.
“I look forward to working with Kristi Noem as Special Envoy for The Shield of the Americas — our new security initiative comprised of 13 countries,” Rubio wrote in a concise two-sentence post.
“Kristi has achieved impressive results as Secretary of Homeland Security and will be a tremendous asset in our effort to promote security and prosperity in the Western Hemisphere,” he added.
But the reality is dawning on Noem: she has effectively been relegated to an entry-level role with no real authority, a move that will likely force her to return to South Dakota with little dignity intact.
Social media did not cut Noem any slack, piling on as she hit a new low, echoing past criticisms of how she handled a January immigration crackdown in Minneapolis when she described two American victims of violence by ICE agents as “domestic terrorists.”
“This is quite humiliating, even for her. An early retirement from politics and public life would be a mercy for @KristiNoem,” observed an X user named Oscar Chimaobi.
That same user pointed out the obvious about the Shield of the Americas. “My goodness, what a ridiculous name for a government agency. Was it created solely to place underlings in a position to keep quiet and on the taxpayer dime?”
Another commenter similarly remarked, “So she’s been downgraded to an Assistant Secretary level, yet she seems unwilling to quit, which is humiliating… but it didn’t work for her.”
Following Noem’s dismissal and the token Shield of the Americas assignment, Trump convened a summit at his Doral golf club in Florida to launch his new initiative—essentially a military coalition this month designed to combat drug cartels, illegal immigration, and transnational crime through regional military coordination and shared intelligence, according to various outlets.
Politico’s Felicia Schwartz summed up Noem’s fallout in one word: “Oof.”
