WASHINGTON — The Department of Homeland Security under Secretary Kristi Noem is no longer facing isolated controversy — it is confronting a widening revolt from within President Donald Trump’s own party, as Republican lawmakers increasingly describe an agency paralyzed by mismanagement, centralized control, and leadership failures that now threaten national security, disaster response, and congressional oversight.
What began as outrage over an ICE operation in Minneapolis that left two U.S. citizens dead has metastasized into a far broader indictment of Noem’s tenure. From stalled hurricane recovery to turmoil at the nation’s cybersecurity agency, Republicans are openly questioning whether Noem is equipped — or willing — to competently run one of the federal government’s most complex departments.
“You’ve got to get adults in the room,” Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) said flatly. “Get people in there who actually have the kind of experience you need to run large, complex organizations. And it’s just not her.”
Tillis has gone further than rhetoric, calling publicly for Noem’s resignation or removal. He is no longer an outlier.
A Secretary Who Bottlenecked Her Own Department
At the center of the backlash is what lawmakers describe as an unprecedented centralization of authority inside DHS — a system under which Noem personally must approve any expenditure over $100,000.
That decision has effectively frozen FEMA operations, delayed disaster aid, and forced state officials and lawmakers to plead directly with the secretary while communities waited for help.
“The data clearly shows that something is seriously wrong,” Tillis said on the Senate floor, citing failures in responses to Hurricanes Helene, Matthew, and Florence. Hurricane Helene alone killed roughly 250 people and caused nearly $80 billion in damage in North Carolina.
Republicans accuse Noem of responding not by accelerating relief, but by layering new bureaucracy onto an already strained system, turning FEMA into a chokepoint rather than a rapid-response agency.
The frustration was so severe that Tillis and Sen. Ted Budd placed a hold on a major DHS cybersecurity nomination — not over ideology, but to force attention on FEMA’s failures.
Cybersecurity Agency in Disarray
At the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, the dysfunction appears just as severe.
CISA, tasked with defending America’s critical infrastructure, has been roiled by leadership turmoil under Noem’s handpicked appointee, Acting Director Madhu Gottumukkala. Allegations involving mishandling sensitive information and irregularities during security clearance procedures have generated a stream of damaging headlines — all while staff morale reportedly collapses.
Former officials describe an agency hollowed out and politicized.
“Morale is low. People are looking for glimmers of hope,” said a former senior CISA official who recently left the agency. “Everything is filtered through a political lens. You want to serve the country, and instead you’re fighting dysfunction.”
Behind closed doors, House appropriators have held emergency briefings over what they describe as the dismantling of offices responsible for countering weapons of mass destruction — another DHS mission now reportedly in limbo.
Congress Shut Out, Oversight Stonewalled
If operational failures were not enough, lawmakers from both parties accuse Noem of actively obstructing congressional oversight.
House Homeland Security Committee Chair Andrew Garbarino (R-N.Y.) has criticized DHS for stonewalling testimony requests. Noem further inflamed tensions when she abruptly left a high-profile hearing — citing a FEMA meeting that was later canceled — prompting Democrats to issue a subpoena to compel her return.
One Republican close to committee leadership called the move “a sign of arrogance and disrespect.”
Even Republicans supportive of aggressive immigration enforcement have bristled at Noem’s unilateral decisions, including a plan to convert a warehouse in rural Mississippi into a massive ICE detention center — a move Sen. Roger Wicker warned would damage local economic development while delivering no clear community benefit.
Trump’s Loyalty vs. Congressional Reality
President Trump has publicly shielded Noem, reiterating his support and citing internal polling showing strong approval among his base. DHS officials have aggressively touted border enforcement metrics and claimed cost savings.
But on Capitol Hill, patience is evaporating.
House and Senate appropriators are now preparing to strip DHS of its flexibility to move funds between accounts, a rare and punitive measure driven by what lawmakers describe as secrecy, mismanagement, and an unwillingness to answer basic questions.
“I know the secretary doesn’t like that,” said Rep. Mark Amodei (R-Nev.), who chairs the House Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee. “Welcome to the club.”
A Secretary Running Out of Allies
Some Republicans are waiting for upcoming hearings before delivering final judgment. But the direction of travel is unmistakable.
This is no longer about immigration optics or a single tragic incident. It is about whether the Department of Homeland Security is being competently governed at all — and whether Kristi Noem’s leadership has become a liability rather than an asset.
For now, Trump stands by her. Congress is no longer so sure.
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