DHS Secretary Noem’s second Capitol Hill grilling this week
U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem attends a House Judiciary Committee hearing on “Oversight of the Department of Homeland Security” to testify, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., March 4, 2026.
Elizabeth Frantz | Reuters
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on Wednesday appeared before the House Judiciary Committee for nearly seven hours, her second straight day of grilling by lawmakers on Capitol Hill.
She had an easier day than on Tuesday when the Senate Judiciary Committee, including Republican Thom Tillis of North Carolina, criticized her job performance and Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said the killings of two people during an immigration crackdown in Minnesota were unacceptable. The House Republican caucus is generally in a tighter lockstep with President Donald Trump than their counterparts in the Senate.
Here are five takeaways from Noem’s day before the House Judiciary panel:
1. Noem declines to apologize over domestic terrorism comments
Noem did not take the opportunity to apologize for her comments that characterized two Americans shot and killed by federal immigration agents as domestic terrorists.
Asked by the panel’s ranking member, Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., if she would like to apologize for her comments, Noem offered condolences to the families of those shot but skipped apologizing for her comments.
“My heart is with them and we will continue to stand with them as they get a complete investigation into these situations,” Noem said.
Noem said in the immediate aftermath of both the shootings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good that they were engaged in acts of “domestic terrorism.” Subsequent videos of the shootings contradicted those claims.
2. Noem does not say she’s never had sex with Corey Lewandowski
Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove asked Noem whether she has ever had “sexual relations” with her top advisor, Corey Lewandowski, during her tenure atop DHS.
Noem ripped the question as “tabloid garbage” but did not say affirmatively under oath that she has never had sexual relations with Lewandowski. The pair have both publicly denied an affair, as has been reported in several media outlets.
“I am shocked that we’re going down and peddling tabloid garbage in this committee today,” Noem said. “He is a special government employee who works for the White House; there are thousands of them in the federal government.”
“It is offensive that you have brought that up. That kind of garbage has been refuted for years,” Noem said.
Rep. Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla., offered Noem another opportunity to say “no” to whether the affair has happened.
“This has been something that I’ve refuted for years, and I continue to do that,” Noem said. “This is what you do, the socialist liberal left, is you go off and you attack conservative women and you say that we’re either stupid or we’re sluts.”
3. Noem faces only slight criticism from Republicans
Unlike on Monday, when Noem was ripped by Tillis for what he said was…
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