In the weeks following her transition facilitated by Donald Trump, Kristi Noem is facing significant challenges as her team begins to unravel. Despite the diplomatic maneuverings intended to ease her into her new role, key staff departures are casting shadows over her leadership.
Four key figures from Noem’s team have been placed on administrative leave by the White House. As a result, the bustling activity expected at the Shield of the Americas office has ground to a halt, with remaining team members opting to stay away, and Noem herself stepping back from the public spotlight.
Reliable sources have confirmed that among those sidelined are Troup Hemenway, previously the deputy chief of staff, Giovanna Cinelli, the former deputy general counsel, along with junior staff members Josh King and Octavian Miller.
Insiders from the State Department have revealed that Noem has managed to conduct only a single meeting throughout the week, and this was done virtually. Meanwhile, her dwindling staff have been scattered between the main State Department building and their homes.
With the team’s numbers halved and a lack of clear direction, there’s growing speculation within the administration about Noem’s future viability in her current position. Some insiders suggest that her tenure at Shield of the Americas might be short-lived.
A State Department insider shared with the Daily Mail, “This role was designed as a transitional position to avoid the appearance of an abrupt dismissal for Noem.”
‘But no one really thinks she should have this job,’ the source added. ‘The State Department was not happy to have her here and the understanding is that she’s not going to be here for much longer.’
Noem was fired as Homeland Security Secretary in early March, losing her post atop the nation’s largest law enforcement agency.
But Noem’s astonishing fall from grace was still far from complete.
Sources tell us at least four officials who followed Noem from DHS were placed on administrative leave at her new office, the Daily Mail can now reveal
The Daily Mail revealed Kristi Noem’s husband Bryon Noem is a secret crossdresser who exchanges photos of himself online wearing giant fake breasts
For the new State Department gig, she became the subject of mockery when photos surfaced of her in Guyana sitting next to her lover Corey Lewandowski at a table with the nation’s president and other government leaders.
Then a bigger bombshell dropped last week when the Daily Mail published photos of her crossdressing husband, Bryon, that he had sent to online fetish models.
The scandal sparked national security concerns because her husband’s activity opened her up to blackmail as head of Homeland Security.
The scandals that have rocked her personal life were only compounded by Noem’s spiraling political career.
Her new office was established to combat drug cartels, international criminal organizations, and migrant crime in the Western Hemisphere by coordinating with Homeland Security, the State Department, and Pentagon.
However, along with Noem’s embarrassing debut in Guyana, there were simply no clear roles or responsibilities for many of the staff brought over, sources tell the Daily Mail.
‘The thing itself is still being figured out,’ one Trump official familiar with the matter told the Daily Mail. ‘It doesn’t make sense to just have a bunch of folks not really having a substantive role.
‘The administrative leave, if anything, is an opportunity for folks to figure out what they’re doing, whether that be with the Shield of the Americas, the State Department, or wherever else, while the big picture starts to sort itself out.’
Her indignity is laid bare inside her new offices, a stripped-down operation that bears little resemblance to the sprawling agency she commanded at DHS.
Mr Noem supports his wife last month by sitting dutifully behind her at a congressional hearing scrutinizing her aggressive immigration enforcement tactics
This post was intended as a soft landing so it didn’t look like Noem was immediately being fired,’ a State Department source told the Daily Mail of the newly-created Shield of the Americas
The once highly public personality, who earned the nickname ICE Barbie for her glamorous looks, outfit changes and reality TV leadership at DHS, had her belongings packed up from headquarters.
She and her dwindled inner circle then moved into a building housing the Institute for Peace, an outfit that had plenty of spare space after being gutted by Elon Musk and his team of downsizers at DOGE.
The growing promise of a vibrant new agency, celebrated March 7 at an inaugural summit at Trump Doral Miami, is already giving way to a stark reality.
Multiple State Department and administration sources told the Daily Mail the office has struggled to get off the ground, with few staff even showing up for an operation marked by inactivity and uncertainty.
Officials in the State Department have been less than welcoming of their new colleagues, believing there is no real need for Noem’s outfit given that her marching orders could be handled by other staffers, sources say.
Rather than build out a functioning team, the administration appears to have paused and reassessed, leaving key hires in limbo.
A source told the Daily Mail that Noem’s personal office is smaller than her one at DHS. She’s decorated it with memorabilia from her time leading Homeland Security, including different hats she wore as secretary.
The rest of her staffers’ desks are sparsely decorated.
Noem has withdrawn from public view after photos emerged showing her husband Bryon is a cross-dresser
Facilities staff at the State Department hesitated to fully move in or discard packing materials because they believed Noem’s tenure would be short-lived, according to one official.
Another source told the Daily Mail the atmosphere surrounding the office signaled it was being ‘shrunk to nothing,’ with little expectation it would become a lasting fixture.
‘Noem’s stuff has been moved in there, but she never shows up,’ one administration official said.
‘I don’t think it’s a real thing.’
Sources told the Daily Mail that one senior aide slated to follow Noem from DHS to the State Department never made the move. Steven Munoz, her former deputy chief of staff, instead leveraged his relationships with senior White House officials to remain at Homeland Security.
Munoz is widely viewed as one of Noem’s closest and most loyal aides within the department.
The Daily Mail has contacted the State Department and Noem for comment. The White House declined to comment.
