Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem was roasted over her “many photo ops and costume changes” as she testified Wednesday before Congress about her department’s 2026 budget and dramatic spending increases.
Noem has mockingly come to be known as “ICE Barbie” on the heels of donning various commando-inspired getups to discuss the Trump administration’s illegal immigration crackdown.
The outfits have become a source of amusement for Democrats and Republicans, with the Wall Street Journal reporting that some White House officials have even circulated a reel of the outfits.
Yet Noem wore a somber black suit for her appearance before the House Committee on Homeland Security on Wednesday as she requested a budget bump of $44 billion.
The extra funding is included in the proposed spending bill House Republicans have been tasked to pass through Congress to pay for President Donald Trump‘s political agenda, with Noem seeking an agreement for a $175 billion Homeland Security budget for next year.
However, Noem faced immense pushback for the extra cash and for her fashion choices.
Mississippi Rep. Bennie Thompson, the ranking Democrat on the committee, sarcastically thanked Noem finding the “time among your many photo ops and costume changes to testify” to meet with them.
He went on to blast the secretary as the “co-accomplice” on Trump’s “revenge tour” and criticized her for asking for a “handout” to continue her “slash and burn activities.”
“I’ve never seen anything like this as a lead Democrat on this committee. Even when, madam secretary, my Republican colleagues and I had strong disagreements, we still have productive conversations and did our duty keep America safe. But that’s not the case any longer,” he added.
Thompson also angrily attacked the Trump administration for “hurting people” and “making the country less safe”, and lambasted GOP colleagues who “sold their souls or at least their spines” to Trump.
Another Democratic congressman, Eric Swalwell of California, also took a dig at Noem’s penchant for cosplaying in various uniforms.
“I don‘t need to wear costumes to show how tough I am,” he said.
He went on to grill Noem on what her department is doing to facilitate the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the Maryland man and Salvadoran national who was deported to El Salvador in an “error” by the Trump administration.
The New York Times reported that the Trump administration had been using a digitally altered photo to claim that Garcia was an “MS-13.”
When Noem refused to give him a straight answer about the photo, he told her: “I have a 7-year-old, a 6-year-old and a 3-year-old. I have a bulls–t detector.”
As Rep. Seth Magaziner of Rhode Island attacked the DHS for a lack of due process in the deportation of over 200 reported migrants to El Salvador, he called Noem “sloppy.”
“You have been sloppy. Your department has been sloppy,” Magaziner said. “You need to change course immediately.”
Seemingly unfazed, Noem doubled down on asking for more money for her department, citing neglect.
“The reconciliation bill is imperative to our future in securing our nation,” she said. “For years, previous administration efforts have neglected the Department of Homeland Security.”
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