Kristi Noem quietly moves to her third job in Trump administration

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Former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has quietly moved into a new role at the State Department after her special envoy status expired last month.

President Donald Trump fired her from his Cabinet earlier this year after multiple controversies while she ran the Department of Homeland Security. Noem then joined the State Department as a special envoy for “The Shield of the Americas,” focusing on the security of the Western Hemisphere — a much different position from her previous Cabinet role.

In her new role, she will continue working on similar matters, a State Department official with the matter told CNN.

“Kristi Noem’s envoy status expired last month and she is no longer in the role,” the official said. “She is now a Senior Advisor to Deputy Secretary Landau and continues to work on the Shield of the Americas portfolio.”

Noem had previously reported to Landau in her role as special envoy, a source familiar said.

During a Shield of Americas meeting last month at the United Nations General Assembly, Trump praised Noem, saying, “I want to thank Kristi Noem for doing a really terrific job.” Similarly, Trump often publicly praised Noem during her tenure as Homeland Security secretary.

But internally, her agency still faced tremendous pressure from the White House to deliver on the president’s immigration-enforcement priorities. As CNN has previously reported, citing officials, the agency’s aggressive — and at times, haphazard — approach fueled tensions within the department.

Her ouster in March came after Noem told lawmakers that Trump approved of her agency’s lavish spending on an advertising campaign that prominently showcased her.

Trump “was pissed,” according to Louisiana GOP Sen. John Kennedy, who asked Noem about Trump’s involvement and got a call from the president later that day.

Trump told NBC News that he didn’t know about the campaign and added that he “wasn’t thrilled with it.”

Within two days of the hearing, Trump called Noem to let her know that he has decided to fire her, sources told CNN at the time. She learned of the president’s decision as she was arriving at an event in Nashville.

The president also immediately announced that he was selecting then-Sen. Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma to replace her.

Before joining the second Trump administration, Noem served as the governor of South Dakota and had established herself as a Trump loyalist.

She was one of the earliest governors to endorse Trump ahead of his 2024 run for president, and was once considered a top potential running mate before eventually falling off the shortlist.

CNN’s Jennifer Hansler, Michael Williams, Priscilla Alvarez, Lauren Fox, Gabe Cohen, Kristen Holmes, Annie Grayer and Kaitlan Collins contributed to this report.

Rebecca Blackwell/Pool/AFP/Getty Images/文件

前国土安全部长克里斯蒂·诺姆在上个月特使身份到期后，已悄然转任国务院新职务。

今年早些时候，由于担任国土安全部部长期间引发多起争议，唐纳德·特朗普总统将她从内阁中解职。随后，诺姆加入国务院，担任“美洲之盾”特使，专注于西半球的安全——这与她之前的内阁职务截然不同。

一位国务院官员告诉 CNN，她上任后将继续处理类似事务。

“克里斯蒂·诺姆的特使身份已于上月到期，她不再担任该职务，”这位官员说。“她现在是兰道副国务卿的高级顾问，并继续负责‘美洲之盾’项目。”

一位知情人士透露，诺姆此前曾以特使身份向兰道汇报工作。

上个月在联合国大会期间举行的“美洲之盾”会议上，特朗普称赞了诺姆，说：“我要感谢克里斯蒂·诺姆，她做得非常出色。” 同样，在诺姆担任国土安全部长期间，特朗普也经常公开赞扬她。

但就内部而言，她的部门仍然面临着来自白宫的巨大压力，要求其落实总统的移民执法优先事项。正如CNN此前援引官员的话报道的那样，该机构激进且有时杂乱无章的做法加剧了部门内部的紧张局势。

今年 3 月，诺姆告诉立法者，特朗普批准了她的机构在广告宣传活动上挥霍无度，该活动突出了她本人，之后她被解职。

据路易斯安那州共和党参议员约翰·肯尼迪称，特朗普“非常生气”，他曾就特朗普的参与情况询问诺姆，并在当天晚些时候接到了总统的电话。

特朗普告诉 NBC 新闻，他对这项活动并不知情，并补充说他“对此并不感到兴奋”。

据当时CNN报道，听证会结束后两天内，特朗普就致电诺姆，告知她已决定解雇她。诺姆是在抵达纳什维尔参加一个活动时得知总统的决定的。

总统随即宣布，他将选择当时的俄克拉荷马州参议员马克韦恩·穆林接替她的职位。

在加入特朗普第二届政府之前，诺姆曾担任南达科他州州长，并确立了自己作为特朗普忠实拥护者的地位。

在特朗普 2024 年竞选总统之前，她是最早公开支持特朗普的州长之一，一度被认为是热门的竞选搭档人选，但最终落选。

CNN的Jennifer Hansler、Michael Williams、Priscilla Alvarez、Lauren Fox、Gabe Cohen、Kristen Holmes、Annie Grayer和Kaitlan Collins对本报道亦有贡献。