From Luxury Jets To A Dead Dog: The Many Scandals That Got Kristi Noem Fired By Trump

Last Updated:March 06, 2026, 19:07 IST

Here is a look at the controversies that defined and ultimately ended Kristi Noem's tenure

Kristi Noem is out as US Secretary of Homeland Security after just over a year in the job- removed following months of bipartisan criticism and a string of controversies that ranged from deadly immigration raids to a $220 million ad campaign featuring her on horseback and a blanket dispute that ended a pilot’s career.

US President Donald Trump announced that Republican Senator Markwayne Mullin would replace her. Kristi Noem had been the official responsible for delivering Trump’s mass deportation agenda- boosting deportations to 675,000 in the president’s first year, though that fell short of the White House’s stated goal of one million per year.

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Here is a look at the controversies that defined and ultimately ended Kristi Noem’s tenure:

Two Americans Killed In Immigration Raids

The crisis that did the most damage to Kristi Noem’s standing began in Minnesota. Immigration enforcement operations in the Midwestern state sparked protests in Minneapolis and resulted in the fatal shooting of two American citizens- Renee Good and Alex Pretti- in confrontations with federal agents. Kristi Noem responded by accusing both Good and Pretti of domestic terrorism. Mobile phone footage and body camera recordings subsequently raised questions about her department’s account of the incidents.

Luxury Jets And A Plush Bedroom

Kristi Noem faced persistent accusations of wasting agency funds throughout her tenure. She approved the purchase of two Gulfstream G700 luxury jets and the department had plans to acquire a third aircraft- a Boeing 737- for approximately $70 million. Kristi Noem defended the spending, describing the jets as “long-range command and control aircraft" that would also be used for deportations.

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The $220 Million Horseback Ad Campaign

Reports of a $220 million advertising campaign starring Kristi Noem are said to have angered Trump directly. The commercial, which urged immigrants to self-deport, featured Kristi Noem wearing a cowboy hat and riding on horseback across a prairie with a herd of bison in the background.

The Salvadoran Prison Photo Op

In March 2025, Kristi Noem visited the notorious CECOT prison in El Salvador, which had agreed to accept deportees from the United States. She posed for photographs in front of prisoners standing at the bars of a crowded cell and said she had arranged for some detainees to be held at the facility. The visit drew additional attention when it emerged she had been wearing a $50,000 gold Rolex Cosmograph Daytona watch during the tour.

The Dog She Shot

Before she ever took office, Kristi Noem had already generated one of the most memorable controversies of any recent cabinet nominee. In her 2024 memoir, she wrote that she had killed her family’s “untrainable" and “dangerous" 14-month-old wirehaired pointer, Cricket, by leading the dog to a gravel pit and shooting her.

“It was not a pleasant job," she wrote, adding, “But it had to be done." The story drew widespread condemnation, though Kristi Noem defended her actions on X, saying tough decisions “happen all the time on a farm." The same memoir also contained a false anecdote claiming she had once met North Korean leader Kim Jong Un- an account that was subsequently debunked.

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