(AURN News) — President Donald Trump has fired Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem following a contentious congressional hearing in which lawmakers pressed her about spending and leadership controversies, including a $70 million Boeing 737 Max 8 acquired by the Department of Homeland Security for deportation operations and a $220 million department advertising campaign.
According to Reuters, Trump said in a phone interview that he never knew anything about the ad campaign, despite Noem telling lawmakers the president approved the spending.
Pressure on Noem had already been building for months, including after the fatal shooting of two U.S. citizens, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, during immigration crackdowns in Minneapolis earlier this year.
The administration says Noem will now serve as special envoy to the U.S.-led Shield of the Americas, while Trump has tapped Oklahoma Sen. Markwayne Mullin to become acting DHS secretary.
Click play to listen to the report from AURN White House Correspondent Ebony McMorris. For more news, follow @E_N_McMorris & @aurnonline.
