The White House rejected claims that President Donald Trump is leaning toward firing Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on Monday.
The denial comes in response to a report from MS Now stating that a White House official said Noem is on “very thin ice.” The report claimed Trump was considering removing Noem as early as this January and that White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller was leading the campaign for her removal.
“Everything about this is total Fake News. Secretary Noem is doing a great job implementing the President’s agenda and making America safe again. MS Now continues to beclown themselves by inventing narratives that simply are not true,” White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said in a statement.
The MS Now report claimed that some White House officials have been dissatisfied with the pace of Noem’s expansion of detention facilities and that multiple governors have complained about the federal response to disasters in their states.
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The anonymous officials quoted in the article claim that outgoing Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin is a top contender to replace Noem.
The report came roughly a week after Noem backed Trump’s call for sweeping travel bans set to apply to more than 30 countries.
“I won’t be specific on the number, but it’s over 30. And the president is continuing to evaluate countries,” Noem told Fox News last week.
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“I just met with the President. I am recommending a full travel ban on every damn country that’s been flooding our nation with killers, leeches, and entitlement junkies,” Noem said.
She slammed certain immigrants as threats to public safety and accused them of draining resources meant for Americans.
“Our forefathers built this nation on blood, sweat, and the unyielding love of freedom—not for foreign invaders to slaughter our heroes, suck dry our hard-earned tax dollars, or snatch the benefits owed to AMERICANS,” she said.
“WE DON’T WANT THEM. NOT ONE.”
Fox News’ Bonny Chu contributed to this report.
