Prominent Figures and Politicians Express Discontent with Kristi Noem

Following the tragic January 2026 killing of Alex Pretti, prominent Republicans such as North Carolina Senator Thom Tillis and Alaska’s Lisa Murkowski voiced their belief that Noem should step down from her role as Secretary of Homeland Security. Murkowski was straightforward in her remarks, telling reporters, “She should go,” according to Politico. Tillis was even more candid, criticizing her actions in Minnesota as “disqualifying” and labeling them “amateurish” and “terrible,” asserting that they tarnish the president’s reputation.

Despite the criticism, Noem found an ally in Donald Trump, who dismissed the senators’ comments. Speaking to ABC News, Trump defended Noem, describing the senators as “terrible” and even calling them “losers” in a not-so-subtle jab. However, his defense is unlikely to sway Tillis and Murkowski’s opinions.

Luckily for Noem, Donald Trump didn’t seem to have been swayed by Tillis and Murkowski’s stance. “They’re terrible senators. One is gone and the other should be gone,” he told ABC News. Trump also added a not-so-spicy zinger during his defense of Noem, calling the senators in question “losers.” Sick burn. Unfortunately for Noem, though, this is unlikely to have changed Tillis and Murkowski’s view of her.

“Jimmy Kimmel Show” viewers will be well aware that the late night host is no fan of Kristi Noem. One of his memorable early jabs at her came in April 2025, when Kimmel roasted Noam’s habit of matching her lewk to what she was doing on any given day — need we remind anyone of her SWAT Team Barbie cosplay? “Kristi Noem has been tackling the crisis at the border in an interesting way — by playing dress up,” Kimmel quipped. “She has so many different looks. She’s got police officer, she’s got cowboy, biker, soldier, sailor, construction worker, and Native American. She dresses up as all the Village People!” In another cold open, Kimmel mocked Noem once again, describing her as “a woman who has never met a crime scene she couldn’t match her lipstick to.” Harsh — but not inaccurate. 

Kimmel hasn’t exactly held back his disdain about Noem notoriously shooting her dog, Cricket, either. For one thing, his YouTube channel openly refers to her as “puppy killer Kristi Noem.” He’s also laid it on thick in his cold opens, quipping in one 2024 episode that Donald Trump would use her to keep his other devotees in check. “He wants to keep her around in case one of the other lap dogs stops obeying his commands. Kristi can drag ’em to the rock quarry and put ’em down,” he said. In the same episode, Kimmel also lambasted Noem for lying about having met Kim Jong Un in her book, “No Going Back” … and he wasn’t the only public figure with something to say about that book.

Megyn Kelly had a field day with Noem’s quickly disproven claim to have held her own with Kim Jong Un. ICYMI, that never happened, and Noem later chalked it up to an error of sorts, which she only picked up after the press flagged it. However, Kelly made it clear on “The Megyn Kelly Show” that she wasn’t buying that story. “I don’t know if she wrote any piece of this, I don’t know who was making up the lie, but I do know that it wasn’t just brought to her attention — she read it into the audio book herself,” Kelly slammed. The former Fox News reporter also called Noem out for lying about meeting with Emmanuel Macron, and, like Kimmel, she brought up the dog shooting incident, accusing her of changing her story to make it seem as though Cricket had been exceptionally dangerous.

Kelly has also criticized Noem over her rumored affair with Corey Lewandowski. Specifically, she lamented giving her a platform to deny the rumors on her show. After the Daily Mail ran a story exposing the affair, Kelly complained, “I feel foolish because it appears this was true, and she was only too happy to go along with my giving her the benefit of the doubt.” Kelly would go on to support Noem after she was named Secretary of Homeland Security, though she nonetheless made it clear she didn’t personally like her. “I’m not her biggest fan,” she said.

Megyn Kelly may only have soured on Kristi Noem after interviewing her, but Fox Business’ Stuart Varney certainly didn’t. Some may recall that, in the midst of puppygate, Varney called Noem out very openly — live on air, no less. 

Varney began his interview by pushing Noem on why she decided to include the story in her book. Right off the bat, Noem became combative, responding, “Well, I don’t think you have the facts straight. This was a vicious, dangerous dog, that was a working dog, and I had to make a choice between the safety of my children and an animal that was killing livestock and attacking people.” Notably, Varney hadn’t asked about how dangerous Cricket had been, but her defensiveness may have prompted him to dig deeper. He soon began asking questions about the dog’s age, and then asked if, after experiencing such backlash, Noem would remove the story from the book if she was able to go back. This only prompted more combativeness from Noem. She went on to praise her own book as “wonderful” and tried to steer the conversation towards Joe Biden and Antifa. 

After a brief segue away from the dog situation, Varney finished off by bringing it up once again, asking whether Noem had spoken about the scandal with Donald Trump. She responded that the interview was “ridiculous” and demanded that they talk about other issues. Varney’s retort? “I’m afraid we’re out of time.” Something tells us he wasn’t jumping for joy over her appointment as Secretary of Homeland Security. 

Some may be aware that, in May 2025, Adam Schiff shared a YouTube video in which he called out Kristi Noem out for all kinds of things, from shooting her dog to making up stories in her book. In fact, Senator Schiff could barely hide his laughter as he recounted the inaccuracies in “No Going Back.”

Then, discussing Noem’s appointment as Secretary of Homeland Security, Schiff joked, “You would think that we would have someone of great seriousness, someone who would bring the necessary thought and intellect and determination to protecting the country to the job. But Kristi Noem, instead, has found a penchant for her own brand of Trump reality TV, in which she gets to dress up as different characters for the camera.” This led into a slideshow of some of Noem’s dress-up moments, with Schiff specifically pausing to highlight the out-of-touch moment she flaunted her lavish Rolex while visiting El Salvador’s CECOT prison.

Schiff would continue to speak against Noem in the months that followed. In June 2025, he called for her to resign after Senator Alex Padilla was shoved out of one of her press conferences. In January 2026, he shared an Instagram post criticizing her for giving ICE agents the go-ahead to enter people’s homes without a warrant. “That is unconstitutional,” he wrote. Speaking to NBC News, he also confirmed that he would not be voting for more funding to go to the Department of Homeland Security. Safe to say, he’s not a fan — and we wouldn’t bet on that changing anytime soon.

Another politician who wants Kristi Noem out of her job? Illinois congresswoman Dr. Robin Kelly. In mid-January 2026, Kelly wrote on Facebook that she’d taken a big step towards ousting Noem. “I officially filed articles of impeachment against Kristi Noem for her lack of leadership and the chaos and violence ICE has caused under her watch,” she began her post. Kelly added that she wasn’t alone, noting, “Nearly 70 members of Congress are standing with me in this effort. My message to Kristi Noem: the American people are outraged, and we are watching you.” In an appearance on NBC News a few days later, Kelly doubled down on this. “She needs to be held accountable, and she needs to know that Congress is watching — but more importantly, people are watching,” she said. “The public is watching, and the public is not happy with what is going on.”

Between comedians, political commentators and politicians on both sides of the aisle, it’s pretty clear Noem has a ton of detractors. That’s not exactly surprising, though. Noem is a politician, after all, so scrutiny is part of the job. As for chatter brought on by made-up meetings with world leaders, dishing out unconstitutional orders, treating serious events like dress-up parties and, y’know, shooting a puppy … well, we guess that’s what sets Noem apart from the rest.