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Kristi Noem ousted as FEMA chief after months of disaster response failures

A storm of backlash over stalled hurricane relief and political disputes sealed Noem's fate. Now, a new leader faces Senate scrutiny to fix FEMA's crisis.

, and Administrator

2026 March 18 . 1:04 AM

1 min read

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Kristi Noem ousted as FEMA chief after months of disaster response failures

Kristi Noem's time as DHS Secretary overseeing FEMA has ended after months of criticism. Her handling of disaster recovery funds and workforce cuts drew widespread backlash. President Donald Trump has now replaced her with Markwayne Mullin, who faces a Senate confirmation vote this week.

Noem's tenure became increasingly controversial after Hurricane Helene struck. She froze most FEMA payments, causing long delays in recovery efforts. North Carolina's senators publicly criticised her for the slow release of grants to affected communities.

Under her leadership, the on-call FEMA workforce was cut by thousands of employees. The Trump administration also rejected or delayed sixteen major disaster requests, with many denials affecting Democratic-leaning states. These decisions further damaged her standing among Republicans on Capitol Hill.

President Trump removed Noem and nominated Markwayne Mullin as the new FEMA administrator. The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee will question Mullin on Wednesday. A vote on his confirmation is scheduled for Thursday, with expectations that he will be approved.

Mullin's nomination follows a period of turmoil at FEMA under Noem's leadership. If confirmed, he will take over an agency facing backlogs and political scrutiny. The Senate's decision will determine whether he moves forward to lead disaster response efforts.