WASHINGTON — Tricia McLaughlin, a prominent advocate for President Trump’s stringent immigration policies and a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security, is set to depart from her position next week, as confirmed by The Post.
Having held the role since the beginning of Trump’s presidency in January of last year, McLaughlin had originally planned her exit in December. However, she postponed leaving following the tragic shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis last month, according to sources familiar with her departure. The news of her exit was initially reported by Politico.
In a text message, McLaughlin expressed that although she is leaving the DHS, her commitment to the cause remains firm, stating, “I’m not exiting the fight.”
Hailing from Ohio, McLaughlin previously worked at the State Department during Trump’s first term, serving as Chief of Staff for Nuclear Arms Control. After Trump’s presidency, she took on the role of communications lead for Ohio Governor Mike DeWine’s 2022 re-election campaign and also contributed to Vivek Ramaswamy’s 2024 presidential campaign.
Despite the ongoing controversies surrounding the DHS, McLaughlin’s departure is reportedly on good terms. A source mentioned that her decision was driven by typical reasons, saying, “It’s a slog.”
“She did a great job,” the source added, emphasizing that her departure was not due to any external pressure, stating, “It wasn’t like she was pushed out.”
Throughout her tenure, McLaughlin sparred with reporters and critics on social media.
She also worked to spotlight the scores of violent criminal illegal immigrants that the Trump administration deported.
Following the Jan. 7 shooting of Good after she accelerated her vehicle in the direction of an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer, McLaughlin declared on social media that “Dangerous criminals — whether they be illegal aliens or U.S. citizens — are turning their vehicles into weapons to attack ICE.”
She also claimed that Pretti, who was pinned down by Border Patrol agents before being shot Jan. 24, had “violently resisted” immigration enforcement officers and sought “to do maximum damage and massacre law enforcement” — a claim that was contradicted by video showing Pretti being disarmed before the shooting.
Much of DHS has been shut down since Friday night due to a stalemate in Congress over Democrats’ demands for reforms to ICE.
Republicans already funded ICE and Customs and Border Protection operations in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act signed by Trump last year, but the partial government shutdown impacts funding for the Coast Guard, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Transportation Security Administration (TSA), and more.
Additionally, McLaughlin’s departure comes amid rumors of a growing rift between Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem and border czar Tom Homan over immigration enforcement strategy.
Additional reporting by Josh Christenson.
