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Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem's non-answer about whether she had "sexual relations" with top aide Corey Lewandowski during a House hearing Wednesday (March 4) was reportedly the "final straw" that led to President Donald Trump announcing his decision to replace her, sources inside and close to the White House told the California Post on Thursday (March 5).
Trump was reportedly considering ousting Noem, 54, after he had already claimed to senators that he approved $220 million to be spent on Homeland Security advertisements starring her, but the secretary's inability to answer the question on her alleged affair was the deciding factor.
“The question about the affair at the hearing was actually the final straw. It was f**king brutal," one source said of Noem's non-answer.
Noem's answer to Sen. John Kennedy's questioning over a massive taxpayer-funded ad campaign featuring herself also reportedly left Trump "mad as a murder hornet," according to the California Post.
Trump announced that Sen. Markwayne Mullin would replace Noem as secretary of homeland security effective March 31, at which point Noem will serve as special envoy for the shield of the Americas, a new security initiative.
Trump's announcement came shortly after the Wall Street Journal reported that he was preparing to fire Noem, with sources claiming he already started asking asides and Congressional Republicans for names to potentially replace her.