Two of Donald Trump’s most vicious anti-immigration bulldogs have reportedly been at each other’s throats to such an extent that the president himself wondered if he’d need to step in.
In a sweeping exposé on Kristi Noem’s rise from humble Farm Service Agency employee South Dakota governor to homeland security secretary, New York magazine reports that Noem’s bitter spat with border czar Tom Homan ultimately boils down to her seemingly insatiable appetite for publicity.
Since assuming her post earlier this year, Noem has indeed embarked on an intense campaign for ever greater public exposure, earning the nickname “ICE Barbie” for cosplaying during TV appearances as an immigration enforcement agent, a firefighter, a pilot, and various other DHS employees.
It was her crusade for more airtime, a former DHS official told the magazine, that apparently put her on a collision course with Homan, himself a huge fan of media appearances.
Noem reportedly became enraged with the border czar after he appeared on TV to discuss developments in the Trump administration’s nationwide immigration crackdown, accusing him of having “gotten out front” of her on the topic.
“She tried to put a comms blackout on him,” another member of the administration told New York. “She ordered that he not go on TV; she ordered that basically no one go on TV in the entire Homeland Lane.”
Noem didn’t stop there, telling Homan he worked for her, to which Homan responded by telling her that in fact, he works for the White House, according to the magazine.
It was at that stage that Trump himself reportedly asked Homan during a sitdown with the border czar earlier this year whether he “needed to intervene,” though Homan said he needn’t bother as “we can work this out,” according to New York.
The Daily Beast has reached out to the White House and the Department of Homeland Security for comment on the report. A spokesperson for the Trump administration told the magazine that “the President’s entire team—including Border Czar Tom Homan and Secretary Noem—are all in lockstep.”
DHS, meanwhile, told the magazine of its report: “This NYMag hit piece reads like a preteen rage-scrolling, then prompting ChatGPT for a screed on misogyny—complete with zero substance and maximum bullshit.”
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