WASHINGTON—President Donald Trump ousted Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem today following contentious congressional hearings this week about her leadership. He announced that she will be stepping down at the end of the month and will be replaced by Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla.
The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) has previously called for Noem to be fired because of the detainment, abuse and killing of U.S. citizens and immigrants under the watch of DHS officials across the country, as well as for her poor handling of disaster response and recovery efforts at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
Below is a statement by Dr. Jennifer Jones, the director of the Center for Science and Democracy at UCS.
“Secretary Noem has overseen a reign of terror at DHS, harming communities across the country and resulting in the deaths of people who sought to hold the administration accountable. Her tenure was marked by rampant lies and disinformation, unlawful operations, careless spending, and a lack of transparency. While her departure is welcome, it’s crucial that the Trump administration and future DHS head commit to halting these reckless and deadly assaults on people and authoritarian attacks on our democracy. We need leaders who pledge to defend people and our shared security, not those who weaponize hate and fear in an effort to cement their power.”
Below is a statement by Shana Udvardy, a senior climate resilience policy analyst at UCS.
“Secretary Noem’s reckless undermining of FEMA has put people’s lives at risk and greatly diminished the agency’s disaster response and recovery efforts. Good riddance. We’re glad to finally see her fired.
“Noem’s extreme overreach included firing hundreds of FEMA staff, politicizing disaster aid, and requiring review of all expenditures over $100,000 causing long delays in disaster assistance. Under her watch, FEMA has been greatly hindered in performing its mandated functions that communities rely on for their safety and recovery in the face of mounting climate and extreme weather disasters.
“The Senate must ensure through confirmation hearings that her successor meets the qualifications for the job and commits to setting right these deeply harmful actions and restoring FEMA’s essential functions and capabilities. We also need President Trump to swiftly nominate a qualified administrator and Congress to pass legislation that would return FEMA to a cabinet level agency.”