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Senator Tillis expressed his frustration with Noem over the issue of American citizens being wrongfully detained by ICE. His irritation was evident as he criticized what he described as “stonewalling” by Noem.
Tillis issued a stern warning, suggesting that the Senate’s activities could be significantly disrupted if he did not receive answers to his queries. “If I don’t get an answer to these questions that you’ve had a month to respond to, I’ll be informing leadership that I’ll be putting a hold on any en banc nominations,” he stated firmly.
He further escalated his stance, declaring, “And in two weeks, if I don’t get a response, I’m going to deny quorum and markup in as many committees as I can.”
As Tillis raised his voice, he drew an analogy to emphasize the seriousness of the situation: “A 14-month-old dog is basically a teenager in dog years,” he noted, underscoring his point with intensity.
“A 14-month-old dog is basically a teenager in dog years,” Tillis said in a raised voice.
“You decided to kill that dog because you had not invested the appropriate time and training and then you have the audacity to go into a book and say it’s a leadership lesson about tough choices.”
He also criticised Noem as “incompetent” over her handling of FEMA, the US emergency response bureau.
He was specifically critical of her handling of the Hurricane Helene response in his home state of North Carolina.
Tillis is retiring at the end of his term in January, and as he nears the end of his Senate career, his criticism of the Trump administration has become more strident.
He is likely to be replaced by Democrat Roy Cooper, who is well ahead in the polls.
Noem was also criticised by another Republican, Louisiana’s John Kennedy, over her appearance in an ad campaign for the Department of Homeland Security.
“The president approved ahead of time you spending $220 million running TV ads across the country in which you are featured prominently?” he asked Noem.
“It’s just hard for me to believe, knowing the president as I do, that you said, ‘Mr President, here’s some ads I’ve cut, and I’m going to spend $220 million running them’ that he would have agreed to that.”
Noem has refused to resign from her role.
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