🚨SCOOP — Trump to associates: Keep Noem away

The president is still upset with his soon-to-be ex-Homeland Security Secretary and doesn’t want her around anymore.

Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem delivers remarks at the "Shield of the Americas" Summit at Trump National Doral in Miami, Florida, on March 7, 2026. (Photo by Rebecca Blackwell / POOL / AFP via Getty Images)

OUT OF SIGHT, OUT OF MIND — A week after ousting his Homeland Security secretary, President DONALD TRUMP has made it clear to staff and associates: KRISTI NOEM is not welcome.

The president has told confidants and staff that he doesn’t want to see Noem. The former secretary or her team have been informed in recent days that she is not on the guest list for a couple of events at the White House, including Thursday’s Women’s History Month celebration, as well as today’s event for rodeo champions.

A Noem defender called this narrative “fake news,” arguing the soon-to-be ex-secretary spoke to Trump last night and has been at the White House since her removal. Still, the president’s message has been clear: Trump doesn’t want her around.

The snub comes as the president yesterday held court with the most powerful women in his orbit in the East Room, featuring them as guests for a Women’s History month celebration. There was First Lady MELANIA TRUMP. Second Lady USHA VANCE and Press Secretary KAROLINE LEAVITT, both expecting new babies later this year. Attorney General PAM BONDI and even Labor Secretary LORI CHAVEZ-DeREMER, who’s been awash in controversy, were spotted.

“He’s pissed at her and Corey [Lewandowski], and did not want her at the event yesterday,” one of these people close to the White House inner circle told me.

KNIVES OUT — News of the president’s sustained anger comes as the bloodletting at DHS continues. Noem and Lewandowski’s many detractors in the administration have taken their forced exit as a blessing to leak unflattering stories about the pair, particularly regarding the dubious process used to award hundreds of millions in contracts. Those stories, notably, haven’t appeared in left-leaning press — but are being broken by right-leaning publications the president frequently reads.

The president likewise hasn’t held back, insisting in one recent interview that he spent less money campaigning to win the presidency than Noem did on taxpayer-funded ads promoting herself.

Adding to this mounting scrutiny, even GOP heavyweights are now circling. House Homeland Security Chair ANDREW GARBARINO (R-N.Y.) told the New York Post that he’s investigating how contracts were won under Noem’s tenure. So too is even House Judiciary Chairman JIM JORDAN (R-Ohio), one of Trump’s most loyal foot soldiers on the Hill.

“It sounds like the president’s concerned,” Jordan told the Post, “so you know, we certainly are as well, and we’ll take a look at it.”

As I mentioned today on our weekday politics show, “The Huddle,” it’s rare to see a party investigate is own. Modern-day oversight is best known for trying to sabotage your political enemy in the other party. Think Hillary Clinton’s infamous emails. Obama and the Solyndra contract or the IRS tea party scandal. Biden’s disastrous Afghanistan pullout.

But Trump’s anger has been something of a green light to have at it.

Also worth keeping in mind: One of the president’s biggest pet peeves is when people profit from their proximity to him. Recently, he’s been quizzing aides on whether Lewandowski — whom he’s long protected out of loyalty — has personally cashed in on some of the contracts, per NBC News. (Lewandowski has denied wrongdoing.)

“The one thing that really pisses [Trump] off is when people full on grift off of him,” as my Huddle co-host SEAN SPICER said on the show today. “It’s one thing to say, ‘Hey, I took care of people that were supportive of you — okay… [If it’s] I took back-end money — I got three points off the buy — and I pocketed that money off of the goodwill that the American people gave you? That’s the line.”

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🎥 TODAY’S WATCH — Speaking of “THE HUDDLE,” check out our latest episode, where Sean, DAN TURRENTINE and I also discuss:

—The Strait Mess — Iran ignored the president’s warning not to mine the Strait of Hormuz. Now what’s this administration going to do about it? Short of taking control of Iran’s coastline, the options are limited — and it’s complicated. Yet with 20 percent of the world’s oil passing through the now-shuttered body of water, much is at risk— the global economy, oil prices, and food supply.

“This is a huge political problem,” Dan warns, pointing out some airlines are already doubled the cost of flights ahead of spring break.

—Sticker shock at the grocery — The three of us also discussed Axios’ reporting that we could be in for higher prices at the grocery. Why? Because a third of the world’s fertilizer passes through the Strait. And the American Farm Bureau is sending warnings to the White House about supply chain problems driving up food costs. (Not great for Republicans heading into the midterms.)

“This isn’t even the tip of the iceberg of the problems,” Sean insisted. “If we’re dealing with fertilizer problems, I think we’re going to have a lot of economic issues.”

—Domestic Terror Attacks — A pair of attacks yesterday in Michigan and Virginia is raising alarm about Americans’ safety. Is the administration doing enough to warn about the potential for more violence? We discuss balancing public alertness with avoiding panic.

—The SAVE Act’s GOP Infighting — We get it — the base and the president want to pass the Save America Act. But is all this Republican-on-Republican fighting spiraling out of control? Check out Sean’s take on what Senate Republicans should do to prove they at least tried (Read: sleeping bags on the Senate floor). And Dan’s assertion that Republicans look small obsessing over this issue in a time of war.

“DHS is shut down in the middle of a war. Airplane lines are long. Food prices are going up. Gas prices are going up. And this is what they’re digging in to fight on? I think the country gets disgusted,” Dan predicted.

Subscribe to our new YouTube channel. Or, if you’re more of a listener rather than a watcher, subscribe to our show on Apple or Spotify.

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