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Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem fiercely defended the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration enforcement tactics and recent decision to seize a Venezuelan crude oil tanker, claiming all of it was to make the U.S. safer.
Appearing before the House Homeland Security Committee Thursday, Noem faced intense questioning from Democratic lawmakers who accused her of lying to the American people, deporting and detaining U.S. citizens, and ignoring laws.
At various points during questioning, Noem talked over Democratic representatives, interrupting them as they tried to criticize her leadership.
“You would’ve heard me if you stopped talking and listened to my questions,” Rep. LaMonica McIver, who is facing charges for allegedly assaulting officers at an ICE facility, snapped back at Noem.
While much of the hearing focused on immigration, Noem also gave a brief update about the recently seized oil tanker that was considered a dramatic escalation of tension between the US and Venezuela.
“It was a successful operation directed by the president to ensure that we’re pushing back on a regime that has systematically covering and flooding our country with deadly drugs,” Noem told lawmakers.
Thursday’s ruling from Maryland District Judge Paula Xinis grants his release “immediately.”
Alex Woodward11 December 2025 17:49
Noem had to leave the congressional hearing early to attend a meeting for the Federal Emergency Management Administration.
As she left, a group of angry anti-ICE protesters could be heard shouting at her in the hallway.
Ariana Baio11 December 2025 17:35
Independent Video11 December 2025 17:30
When asked about the seized Venezuelan oil tanker during the congressional hearing, the secretary said it was part of a larger operation to put pressure on Venezuela.
“It was a successful operation directed by the president to ensure that we’re pushing back on a regime that has systematically covering and flooding our country with deadly drugs and killing our next generation of Americans,” Noem said.
Noem said the Coast Guard, under the Trump administration, has intercepted enough cocaine that could kill 177 million Americans.
Ariana Baio11 December 2025 17:25
Throughout the hearing, multiple representatives have asked Noem about DHS ignoring a court order to stop deportation flights to El Salvador.
Noem has defended DHS’s actions, saying the U.S. Supreme Court has sided with them.
Noem’s decision to ignore court orders about those El Salvador flights will be the subject of upcoming testimony as a judge considers whether to hold Trump administration officials in contempt.
Next week, Judge James Boasberg will hear testimony from Erez Reuveni — the now-former DOJ lawyer who blew the whistle on the administration’s resistance to the court orders — and Drew Ensign, the chief DOJ attorney representing high-profile immigration cases.
Alex Woodward, Ariana Baio11 December 2025 17:00
At various points during Noem’s hearing, Democrats have utilized their time to highlight the deportations or detentions of people they believe were wrongfully targeted by immigration law enforcement.
Rep. Seth Magaziner told Noem the department had deported a combat veteran who lives with PTSD to Korea earlier this year. Magaziner brought in an iPad with the veteran on Zoom and asked Noem to review his case, believing he should not have been deported.
Magaziner also highlighted a case about a woman from Ireland, married to a veteran, who was detained for having a record of writing two bad checks amounting to $80 decades ago. Noem said she would also review her case.
Jim Brown, whose wife Donna Hughes-Brown was detained by Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, stands as U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem testifies before the House Committee on Homeland Security (Getty Images)
Ariana Baio11 December 2025 16:47
When asked what the Department of Homeland Security’s “most significant concern” for the U.S. is, Noem responded, immigrants who entered the country under the Biden administration.
“What keeps me up at night is that we don’t necessarily know all of the people that are in this country, who they are and what their intentions are.”
Noem indicated DHS was mostly focused on detaining immigrants who entered the US under the Biden administration (REUTERS)
Ariana Baio11 December 2025 16:26
Venezuela officials praised the Russian government Thursday after Russia issued a statement in solidarity with Venezuela because the U.S. seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela.
“On behalf of President Nicolas Madura, we express our gratitude and support for the statement issued by the Russian government, through Maria Zakharova, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman, who expressed concern regarding the neocolonial intentions of the North American imperialism manifested through a new national security strategy,” Venezuela’s top diplomat wrote.
Ariana Baio11 December 2025 15:50
Senator John Thune, the Senate Majority Leader, said Thursday morning it was unlikely that Trump’s request for him to get rid of “blue slips” would happen – reminding the president that the practice had been in place for years.
On Truth Social Thursday, Trump asked Thune to “get something done, ideally the termination of Blue Slips.”
The president is referring to the long-standing practice of allowing the senators from a state to approve or disapprove the nomination of a US Attorney
“This is a procedure that has been in place for a long time that both Democrats and Republicans support because it gives them some input, in particular, those judges the judicial appointments that are made in their individual states,” Thune explained.
“I don’t think it’s going to change it’s been in place for a long time.”
Ariana Baio11 December 2025 15:25
Senator Dick Durbin, the Senate Minority Whip, accused Trump of preparing to invade Venezuela and said he needed Congress’s permission to do so.
Appearing on CNN Thursday morning, after the administration announced it seized a crude oil tank off the coast of Venezuela, Durbin said Americans were likely not in favor of an alleged invasion.
“The Constitution makes it clear that any president, before he engages in an act of war, has to have the authorization of the American people through Congress,” Durbin said.
“This president is preparing for an invasion of Venezuela. Simply said. And if the American people are in favor of that, I’d be surprised.”
Ariana Baio11 December 2025 15:03