A report from Fox News correspondent Jacqui Heinrich suggests that Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s Senate testimony earlier this week defending a massive $200 million immigration ad campaign may have been the final straw that pushed President Donald Trump to remove her from the post.
According to Heinrich, Trump was reportedly furious after learning that Noem told lawmakers on Capitol Hill that the president had approved the costly advertising effort, an assertion the White House now says is not true.
The ad campaign, which prominently featured Noem encouraging illegal aliens to self-deport, reportedly ran nationwide and even included visuals of the former South Dakota governor riding horseback along the southern border.
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But when the issue came up during a Senate hearing, Noem told lawmakers that the president had authorized the spending.
According to reporting from Fox News and other outlets, the tipping point came during Noem’s appearance before Congress, where she defended a roughly $200–$220 million Department of Homeland Security advertising campaign designed to encourage illegal aliens to self-deport from the United States.
The ads, which featured Noem, including scenes filmed on horseback at Mount Rushmore, were intended to send a message internationally that illegal immigration would no longer be tolerated under the Trump administration.
Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem speaks with U.S. Border Patrol agents at Mount Rushmore National Memorial in South Dakota, Oct. 2, 2025. (DHS photo by Tia Dufour)
But the controversy exploded when Noem told lawmakers that the campaign had been approved by President Trump himself.
According to a White House official cited by Heinrich:
“The President said he didn’t know about that ad and did not authorize it… That might have been the tipping point after weeks of the President facing questions about Noem’s ability to carry out her duties.”
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Senator John Kennedy (R-LA) asked Noem directly whether Trump had personally approved the advertising push.
John Kennedy: “I’m asking you… the president approved ahead of time you spending $220 million running TV ads across the country in which you are featured prominently?”
Kristi Noem: “Yes, sir. We went through the legal processes.”
Kennedy pressed further.
Kennedy: “Did the president know you were going to do this?”
Noem: “Yes.”
The Louisiana senator appeared skeptical.
“They were effective in your name recognition… To me, it puts the president in a terribly awkward spot,” Kennedy responded.
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This was the moment Kristi Noem basically lost her job, earlier this week: pic.twitter.com/n35bxt2tZH
— The National Pulse (@TheNatPulse) March 5, 2026
Reuters reported:
Noem said on Tuesday that the contract was awarded through “a competitive process” and that no political appointees were involved. On Wednesday, she said the contract was “all done correctly, all done legally.”
The contract was awarded to two companies linked to long-time Republican operatives, records show, details reported last year by the Associated Press and ProPublica.
One of the companies, Safe America Media, was incorporated in Delaware a week before winning the contract. The company was awarded $143 million, federal records show.
The second, the Louisiana-based firm People Who Think, was awarded $77 million.
Neither company responded to requests for comment on Wednesday.
The Strategy Group, a company run by the husband of outgoing DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin, said on Wednesday that it was paid $226,000 as a subcontractor, a small portion of the total.
During Noem’s tenure at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, officials reported significant declines in illegal crossings at the southern border while deportations and voluntary departures increased.
According to DHS data highlighted by supporters of the administration, border encounters dropped sharply after a series of aggressive enforcement measures were implemented.
Officials also said daily encounters at the southern border fell by more than 90 percent compared with peak levels seen during the previous administration.
The administration further reported that nearly 3 million illegal aliens left the United States during the enforcement push, either through deportations or voluntary departures.
Supporters of Noem also pointed to law-enforcement statistics tied to the crackdown. Federal authorities reported a 56 percent drop in fentanyl trafficking at the border, while broader national crime data showed the lowest U.S. murder rate in more than a century, developments administration allies said were tied to stricter immigration enforcement and enhanced border controls.
The administration also highlighted that for 10 consecutive months no illegal migrants released into the United States had crossed the border, a statistic officials used to argue that the “catch-and-release” system had effectively been dismantled.
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