Trump fires DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, Kaine and Warner praise decision

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) -- After President Donald Trump announced he was firing Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem, U.S. Senators Tim Kaine and Mark Warner (Both D-Va.) both told 8News they were in favor of the decision.

On Thursday, March 5, Trump announced on Truth Social that he had fired Noem. He also shared that she would be replaced by Sen. Markwayne Mullin, a Republican senator from Oklahoma, effective March 31.

In that same post, Trump applauded her previous work at the U.S.-Mexico border and said she "has served us well." He wrote that Noem would instead serve as "Special Envoy for The Shield of the Americas," which he described as a new security initiative focused on the Western Hemisphere.

The political move comes more than a year after seven Democratic senators, including Kaine, voted to confirm Noem -- the former governor of South Dakota -- as DHS secretary in a 59-34 vote, allowing her to lead the agency in support of Trump's crackdown on illegal immigration during his second term as president.

Kaine weighed in on Thursday and provided the following statement to 8News:

“The Administration made the right decision to fire Kristi Noem."

Warner also praised what he described as a long-awaited decision in the following statement to 8News:

“Kristi Noem should never have been put in that position in the first place. She was unprepared for the responsibility of the job, and the consequences of that have been clear for some time. Her firing is long overdue.”

Trump's announcement comes two days after Noem faced backlash on Capitol Hill from both GOP members and Democrats.

Noem marks the first Cabinet secretary to leave during Trump's second term as president. Her firing comes alongside criticism over her execution of Trump's immigration agenda, especially after the deaths of U.S. citizens -- 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good on Jan. 7 and 37-year-old Alex Pretti on Jan. 24 -- in Minneapolis, Minnesota, sparking nationwide protests. Democrats and Republicans voiced their frustrations with that execution in Congress hearings this week.

In a social post, Noem -- who did not specifically address her departure as the DHS Secretary -- thanked Trump for appointing her as "the Special Envoy for the Shield of the Americas," and wrote she is excited to work closely with Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Mark Rubio:

"The Western Hemisphere is absolutely critical for U.S. security. In this new role, I will be able to build on the partnerships and national security expertise, I forged over the last 13 months as Secretary of Homeland Security. We have made historic accomplishments at the Department of Homeland Security to make America safe again: we delivered the MOST secure border in American history, 3 million illegal aliens have left the U.S., we have located 145,000 children, FEMA delivered disaster relief at a 100% faster rate, we ushered in the golden age of travel, saved the American taxpayer $13 billion and revitalized the U.S. Coast Guard."