Trump is frustrated with DHS Secretary Kristi Noem and is considering a replacement, sources said

WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump has become frustrated with Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and has begun looking at a possible replacement, lawmakers and people familiar with the negotiations told NBC News.

Trump has been speaking this week to Republican lawmakers about his dissatisfaction with Noem and has made it clear in those conversations that he is considering replacing him, according to two Republican lawmakers, a White House insider and three people familiar with the president’s private conversations.

White House officials have discussed potential replacements for Noem, including Republican Sens. Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma and Steve Daines of Montana, according to two people familiar with the discussions.

No decision has been made by the president, the sources said, but he has told lawyers that he is not happy with Noem’s testimony this week before the House and Senate committees.

Trump was particularly irritated by Noem’s response when repeatedly asked about his role in approving the contracts, particularly the $220 million ad campaign to encourage immigrants to get out, sources said.

At one point when he was asked, Noem told Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., that Trump knew about his decision to approve campaign ad contracts — an answer that didn’t sit well with the president, sources said. Advertising contracts are awarded through a competitive bidding process.

Kennedy told reporters that he spoke with the president about the exchange.

“The president of the United States called me, and I won’t speak for him, folks, but, I can put it this way: his memory and his memory are different.”

“I can assure you, he’s not happy with him,” said one of the lawyers who spoke with Trump this week, as did others, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive internal discussions. “He did very poorly in the trial and made a lot of mistakes.”

Asked to comment on Trump’s frustration with Noem, a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security said, “Secretary Noem serves as the President’s pleasure. He is honored to serve the American people and lead DHS. Under his leadership, we have the most secure border in American history, 3 million aliens have left the United States, and we now have the lowest homicide rate in 125 years.”

The White House did not respond to a request for comment about the president’s thinking about Noem.

Asked if Noem will be replaced, Sen. Lindsey Graham, RS.C., replied: “Time will tell.”

When asked if he still trusted her, she gave the same answer.

Sources say that while Trump has sometimes been unhappy with Noem’s performance at the helm of DHS — most recently over his handling of the shooting of immigration officers in Minneapolis — his frustration has really grown this week.

If he succeeds Noem, it will mark the first Cabinet secretary to leave Trump’s second term. Noem has also been at the forefront of deportation efforts, which is one of the president’s priorities.

One GOP senator told NBC News that Trump has been making calls to Capitol Hill asking for input on Noem since last year, and that his performance during this week’s hearing was “boiling water on the edge of the pot.”

The White House has contacted Daines’ office, both sources said. Daines recently announced that he will not run for office again to spend more time with his family.

Former Utah congressman Jason Chaffetz has expressed interest in replacing Noem, according to two people familiar with the discussions. The Fox News contributor has expressed his interest directly in Trump, and in the past few weeks has discussed the president joining the administration in some way, sources said.

However, the sources stressed that Noem’s dismissal is not certain and no one will take the elected position at this time.

Another potential problem is that DHS funding expired on February 13, forcing a partial shutdown of the department that affects the Transportation Security Administration, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Coast Guard and cybersecurity.

Democrats have been negotiating with the White House about changes to immigration enforcement to secure their votes to fully reopen the agency.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said Noem’s ouster could help negotiations.

“Kristi Noem’s resistance to common sense changes at ICE, her unfounded opposition to legality, should get her fired. And then it may be easier for us to negotiate, because at least some reaction, the need to stop this violation of the law,” he said.