Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s spokesperson, Tricia McLaughlin, is calling it quits.
McLaughlin is expected to share the news with her colleagues at DHS later Tuesday and will leave her role next week, according to Politico.
In a statement to the Daily Beast, McLaughlin said “I am enormously grateful to President Trump, Secretary Noem, and the American people for the honor and privilege to serve this great nation. I am immensely proud of the team we built and the historic accomplishments achieved by this Administration and the Department of Homeland Security.”
“Lauren Bis, an extraordinary talent, who has been with me since Day 1 of the Trump Administration, will take over as the Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs. Katie Zacharia, a dynamic and effective voice in media, will serve as Spokeswoman and Deputy Assistant Secretary,” the statement continued. “I look forward to continuing the fight ahead.”
McLaughlin has been one of the staunchest public supporters of Trump’s harsh immigration policies. She has frequently appeared on Fox News, CNN, and Newsmax, as well as prominent political podcasts throughout her time at DHS, which began with President Donald Trump’s second inauguration in January 2025.
Trump has frequently praised McLaughlin for her TV appearances. In December, after a sit-down with Fox News, the president posted on his Truth Social platform that “Tricia really knows her ‘STUFF!’”
Her departure comes as DHS continues to face mounting scrutiny following several weeks of chaos that have seen its agents shoot and kill two U.S. citizens in Minnesota, and while Democrats and Republicans in Congress debate reforms for Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
DHS has been widely criticized for its response to both fatal shootings. Prominent officials within the department, including McLaughlin, were quick to blame both Minnesota mom-of-three Renee Good and VA ICU nurse Alex Pretti for their deaths at the hands of federal agents. The Trump administration claimed the victims were both engaged in acts of “domestic terrorism” when they were killed in separate incidents in Minneapolis.
A particularly scathing report from The Wall Street Journal published on Thursday, Feb. 12, titled “A Pilot Fired Over Kristi Noem’s Missing Blanket and the Constant Chaos Inside DHS,” also has not helped DHS’s public standing.
A poll from Reuters/Ipsos released at the end of January additionally found that 58 percent of Americans believe the Trump administration’s hardline immigration policies have gone too far.
Politico reported that McLaughlin had planned to begin her departure from DHS in December, but delayed her exit amid the fallout from the killings of Good and Pretti.
Whether the decision to leave now was McLaughlin’s has not been confirmed, and it is unclear what McLaughlin’s next move is. When asked by the Cincinnati Enquirer last month if she would ever run for office, McLaughlin said she “wouldn’t rule anything out.”
