DeLauro On Noem’s Firing: “Good Riddance”

By Thomas Breen

U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro welcomed the end of “perhaps the most corrupt chapter in the short history of the Department of Homeland Security” Thursday in a statement marking Kristi Noem’s ouster as that federal department’s secretary.

President Donald Trump fired Noem earlier in the day. He announced on social media that she will move into a new role: “Special Envoy for The Shield of the Americas, our new Security Initiative in the Western Hemisphere.” Trump plans to appoint Oklahoma U.S. Sen. Markwayne Mullin, a Republican, as homeland security secretary in Noem’s stead.

“Good riddance,” said DeLauro, New Haven’s longtime congresswoman and the top Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, in an email statement sent out at 2:54 p.m. “This closes perhaps the most corrupt chapter in the short history of the Department of Homeland Security. At every turn, Secretary Noem exploited the status and influence of her office. From taking $170 million from the Coast Guard to buy private jets for her own use, to doling out over $200 million for cushy contracts to her former spokesperson’s family business for ad campaigns starring herself, she never missed an opportunity to manipulate the public trust for personal gain.

“Under her stewardship, the Department failed to administer critical grant funding, gutted our nation’s cyber defenses, and terrorized and killed law-abiding American citizens. Future generations will look back on this period and wonder with horror how such cruelty was allowed at so great a scale for so long a time with so little accountability. I join American families, free speech advocates, and dog-lovers across the nation in breathing a sigh of relief that Kristi Noem is no longer in a position of power in this government. She will not be missed.”

At 2:22 p.m., Connecticut U.S. Sen Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat, sent out his own email statement celebrating Noem’s firing.

“Kristi Noem’s firing is well-earned. The atrocities she oversaw, the falsehoods she peddled, and the corruption she committed – all richly deserve her discharge. President Trump should have made it explicit, rather than disguising it with another position of public trust. Whoever follows her must institute commonsense reforms that the American people have demanded and police forces around the country routinely follow. Changing only the top official is inadequate without changing the practices and power structure in the department.”