Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem was briefly hospitalized on Tuesday after suffering what officials described as an allergic reaction.
“Secretary Noem had an allergic reaction. She was transported to the hospital out of an abundance of caution. She is alert and recovering,” said DHS spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin in a statement. McLaughlin later confirmed that Noem was released from the hospital Tuesday night.
The incident occurred at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling in Washington, D.C., according to a DHS official. While Noem had been scheduled to hold a press conference the following morning, the event was postponed due to the health scare.
Democrats Turn on Their Own Votes
Just five months after seven Senate Democrats crossed the aisle to confirm Noem as DHS Secretary, many of those same lawmakers are now publicly reversing course.
Their criticism, however, appears rooted less in Noem’s performance and more in partisan discomfort with the Trump administration’s renewed commitment to border security and law enforcement.
Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), who once touted bipartisanship, has quickly turned on Noem: “I’m very disappointed. I’m very disappointed in her,” Kaine told NBC News. “If I were voting on her today, I definitely wouldn’t vote for her.”
Freshman Sen. Andy Kim (D-N.J.), known for his progressive leanings, echoed the sentiment.
“She’s weaponizing the Department of Homeland Security,” Kim said. “She is taking so many actions right now that are making us less safe… So I have no confidence in her leadership right now.”
Noem was confirmed on January 25 with a 59-34 vote. All Republicans supported her nomination, along with Democrats Elissa Slotkin and Gary Peters of Michigan, Maggie Hassan and Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, and the aforementioned Kaine and Kim. Seven senators—six of whom caucus with the Democrats—did not vote.
Slotkin now claims she has concerns about Noem’s performance, despite voting to confirm her. “She has, frankly, not been in much control of policy,” Slotkin complained. “I see her more as a bystander.”
Sen. Peters, who chairs the committee that oversees DHS, offered a more diplomatic take: “I have to have a working relationship with the secretary, regardless of the positions that they take.”
Democrats Object to Enforcement, Not Incompetence
Let’s be clear: the left’s outrage isn’t about Noem’s lack of action—it’s about her refusal to coddle illegal immigrants and roll back enforcement efforts.
The criticism intensified after reports that Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) was removed from a DHS event when he tried to hijack a press conference. Progressives are spinning the incident as a suppression of dissent, when in fact it was a routine security measure.
The reality is that Secretary Noem is doing what Americans elected the Trump administration to do—enforce the law, secure the border, and restore integrity to a department hollowed out by years of politicization and open-border pandering.
Democrats may regret their votes, but conservatives see a DHS Secretary who’s not afraid to take bold action.
“She’s weaponizing the Department of Homeland Security”
As if you demon-communist-cRATS have never done such a thing. I recall the IRS and the DOJ being weaponized by you communists during the Xao Bai-din term. Is that the best you communists have got? Lies, fear mongering and threats? Your fear mongering rhetoric is speculative and unsupported by any meaningful evidence.