‘She still have a job?’: Kristi Noem walks right into her own trap as Rep. Ted Lieu grills her over a detained toddler
On March 4, 2026, the now former (yes, that actually happened) United States Secretary of Homeland Security was grilled for hours by members of the House over her mismanagement of the department and her handling of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which terrorised immigrant populations across America. House members asked her multiple questions, most of which she answered, quite shockingly, but whenever they confronted her with some of the actions committed by her or her department that led to severe consequences for those involved, she remained quiet or claimed she was doing her duty.
Based on Kristi Noem’s decorum during the hearing, some might say it was better than that of other Republican members (think of Pam Bondi’s Judiciary Committee hearing last month). That being said, a particular moment from Noem’s hearing on March 4 is going viral on social media, especially on X (formerly Twitter), where Representative Ted Lieu questioned her about Amalia, a toddler ICE detained who was on the verge of death during her stay at a detention center and was released several days later only after lawyers filed an emergency habeas corpus petition challenging her detainment.
Rep. Ted Lieu roasts Kristi Noem over detained toddler
The Department of Homeland Security under Kristi Noem’s leadership has been a complete disaster. ICE, which also falls under her department, has now been turned into a tool to terrorise immigrant populations in the US. Agents are hunting them down, using brute force, detaining them, and keeping them under unfavourable conditions. Ted Lieu, on Wednesday, during Kristi Noem’s hearing, brought up one such case where ICE had detained an 18-month-old baby named Amalia at a South Texas immigration detention centre along with her parents. According to a federal lawsuit, Amalia had to be admitted to a hospital due to respiratory failure, which nearly put her on the brink of death. Then, when she improved a little, she was again sent to the detention centre with her parents and denied daily medication. As previously mentioned, she was released from the detention centre following lawyers’ intervention.
During Wednesday’s hearing, Ted Lieu discussed this incident and asked Kristi Noem to confirm whether the individual he was showing had committed a crime that led to their detention. The picture was of Amalia. Noem answered that question negatively and added that she was with her family. To this, Lieu boldly remarked that she was with her family because she nearly died in ICE detention until “folks brought a lawsuit forcing the release of Amalia.”
Kristi Noem has been fired from her DHS Secretary position
On March 5, 2026, Donald Trump announced on his Truth Social account that Kristi Noem was being removed from her position as Secretary of Homeland Security and would be replaced by Markwayne Mullin, a United States senator from Oklahoma, who would assume the role starting March 31, 2026.
Speaking about Kristi Noem, Trump expressed his heartfelt gratitude and thanked her for serving the American people “well.” He also noted that Noem’s leadership “had numerous and spectacular results (especially on the Border!).” Additionally, he highlighted Noem’s next move, stating she would become the Special Envoy for The Shield of the Americas, a Security Initiative in the Western Hemisphere that the US was set to announce on Saturday in Doral, Florida. In the following paragraph, Trump praised Markwayne Mullin and called him “A MAGA Warrior.”
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