White House Refutes Reports That Trump Seeks to Replace Kristi Noem

The White House refuted a report from The Bulwark (Lean Right bias) on Sunday that claimed President Donald Trump is considering replacing Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem.

The Report: The report, written by Adrian Carrasquillo, said Noem "overhaul[ed] the federal government's immigration bureaucracy to better serve the president's vision of ongoing mass deportations. But even as she's carried out these tasks with abject fealty to her boss, her standing in the administration has grown less stable." It cited a recent CNN (Lean Left) report that Noem was in good standing with Trump but not other White House officials, pointing specifically to controversies over her chief advisor, Corey Lewandowski. Carrasquillo wrote, "in a text to me, Lewandowski called bulls**t on any talk of turnover… But in conversations with three former DHS officials—who served in both the Biden and Trump administrations and are still in touch with current staff—it was made clear that Trump is indeed considering moving on from Noem." He theorized, "Trump may want to begin the New Year with a clean slate – positively reform public perception of the administration's latest deportation policies"

Key Quotes: The Bulwark posted on X on Saturday, "In conversations with three former DHS officials—who served in both the Biden and Trump administrations and are still in touch with current staff—it was made clear that Trump is indeed considering moving on from Noem." White House Deputy Press Secretary Abigail Jackson replied on Sunday, "Anonymous former staffers pretend to know what POTUS is thinking and the Bulwark treats them as credible? This 'report' — and the Bulwark — is total FAKE NEWS! Secretary Noem is doing a great job implementing the President's agenda and Making America Safe Again." 

How The Media Covered It: The Independent (Lean Left) focused its coverage on the Bulwark report rather than the White House's rejection, as did most outlets on the left of the political spectrum. The outlet framed Noem negatively by highlighting, "she admitted that she once shot and killed her family's pet dog because it was not easily trainable" and referring to her political agenda as "anti-immigration." It quoted Jackson's response to the report last, exhibiting placement bias. Newsweek (Center) and Washington Examiner (Lean Right) focused more on the back-and-forth of claims. Newsweek said the Trump administration's "aggressive" immigration policies "are becoming increasingly unpopular with Americans," but "Noem has continued to publicly support the administration's agenda." Washington Examiner reported that the Noem's department is undergoing both internal and external tensions, highlighting, "As hostilities rise, Noem has faced a 'surge' in death threats and 'vicious doxing,' according to the DHS."

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