'Good riddance': New York Democrats hail Kristi Noem's ouster as DHS secretary

WASHINGTON — The removal of Kristi Noem as Homeland Security secretary on Thursday was cheered by New York’s congressional Democrats, who for months called for her ouster overseeing President Donald Trump’s mass deportation plan.

Long Island Republicans also seemed ready to turn the page on Noem, whose past year in office has been rocked by scandals and buffeted by criticism, including that she mishandled the Department of Homeland Security’s response to the killing of two American citizens by immigration agents in Minnesota in January.

"Good riddance," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said in a statement posted online shortly after Trump announced in a social media post his plan to nominate Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) to replace Noem as head of the department that oversees  Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Transportation Security Administration and the Federal Emergency Management Administration.

Schumer called on Trump to "rein in ICE and end the violence."

Long Island Democratic Reps. Laura Gillen (D-Rockville Centre) and Tom Suozzi (D-Glen Cove) were among more than 100 lawmakers who had already signed on to articles of impeachment against Noem.

Suozzi in a phone interview told Newsday "maybe this is a sign that there'll be some reform," and the Trump administration will moderate some of its aggressive immigration policies.

"We don't like these masked men breaking the windows of the landscapers and dragging them out of their trucks. We don't like the raiding of people's homes, or their churches, or their hospitals, or their schools," Suozzi said. "Americans have a sense of fairness. They don't like this kind of stuff, and I think that the president saw that this was affecting him, and obviously it's reflected in his poll numbers, so he's trying to address that."

Gillen, who on Wednesday wrote a letter to House GOP leaders urging them to launch impeachment proceedings against Noem, told Newsday on Thursday "the next DHS Secretary must right Noem’s wrongs and work with Congress to quickly enact reforms for ICE, extend [Temporary Protected Status] for our Haitian communities, and restore order at our largest law enforcement agency."

Noem has not helped herself in recent appearances before congressional panels, with both her answers and conduct. That includes two hearings where she testified  before the House Homeland Security Committee chaired by Rep. Andrew Garbarino (R-Bayport).

So combative was Noem in the first of those in December that touched on ICE  tactics — that she suddenly got up and walked out of the hearing before it was over.

Garbarino, in a statement Thursday said: "I thank Secretary Noem for her service to our country. I look forward to continuing this Committee’s important work alongside DHS Secretary nominee Mullin, and I call for his swift confirmation." 

Rep. Nick LaLota (R-Amityville) in a post on X, praised Mullin’s selection and appeared to take a dig at the scandals that have swirled around Noem.

"America can be confident with [Mullin] at the helm of DHS. He’s way more Tulsa King or Landman than Real Housewife," LaLota wrote, referencing the Real Housewives television franchise that documents the lives of socialite women.

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) said the department not only needed a new leader but "structural reform" amid complaints of immigration agents running afoul of the Constitution when carrying out enforcement efforts.

"DHS needs more than just new leadership; it needs fundamental reforms to truly protect public safety and restore public trust," Gillibrand said in a statement.

Noem’s departure was announced hours before the House voted to break a stalemate on DHS funding, and ultimately approved a funding bill for the agency in a mostly party-line vote. Suozzi and Gillen voted against the bill, previously citing the need for more reforms to ICE’s tactics, and LaLota and Garbarino voted in favor.