Congressional Democrats want to launch investigations into former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem after President Donald Trump fired her on Thursday.
Democratic lawmakers are calling for a probe into whether she lied under oath while testifying before Congress and abused her position.
Trump announced on Truth Social that he will replace Noem with Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) days after she went through contentious hearings on Capitol Hill over her handling of immigration enforcement operations and the amount of federal funds spent on advertising campaigns.
Now, Noem will head up the Shield of the America’s initiative, which is aimed at combatting drug cartels.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) said he will push the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations to open a formal perjury probe into whether Noem lied in testimony when she said senior adviser Corey Lewandowski had not authorized contracts for DHS, according to the New York Times.
Mr. Blumenthal said that he would call for the Senate’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations to investigate whether Ms. Noem had lied under oath during a Senate hearing on Tuesday, when she said that Corey Lewandowski, one of her top advisers, did not approve contracts for the Department of Homeland Security.
Mr. Blumenthal said that Democrats had evidence to suggest that Mr. Lewandowski had done so, and that Ms. Noem’s removal did not protect her from an investigation.
“Her firing doesn’t absolve her or relieve her of potential liability for perjury, and we are going to pursue an investigation of the evidence that she lied, because it relates to corruption in the administration,” said Mr. Blumenthal, the top Democrat on the panel.
With Republicans in control of the Senate, Democrats cannot launch a full investigation without their support. Senator Ron Johnson, Republican of Wisconsin and the subcommittee’s chairman, would need to agree to issue any subpoenas.
But Mr. Blumenthal can still hold public forums on the topic, send letters requesting information and solicit whistle-blowers.
Kristi Noem told Congress that Corey Lewandowski had no role approving DHS contracts.
— Mike Levin (@MikeLevin) March 6, 2026
Internal records show the complete opposite, that he signed off on multimillion dollar deals.
If Noem knowingly gave false testimony to Congress, that could constitute perjury and must be…
Of particular interest were Noem’s comments about the $220 million ad campaign she oversaw urging illegal immigrants to self-deport. She suggested that President Trump signed off on the campaign, a claim he has denied. A White House official told NBC News that Trump “did not sign of on a $220 MILLION dollar ad campaign. Absolutely not.”
Blumenthal claimed Democrats have evidence suggesting Lewandowski did sign off on certain contracts. They claim this shows that Noem deliberately misled Congress under oath.
House Democrats are also using Noem’s departure from the Cabinet to push for more investigations into the Trump administration. Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin (MD-08) issued a statement portraying Noem’s tenure as marked with corruption and cruelty. He referred to a $100 million public relations contract that was awarded to a politically connected firm.