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Inside Tom Homan, Kristi Noem's ‘bitter feud’ as Trump's border czar heads to Minnesota: 'Her and Tom don't get along'
Trump sends border czar Tom Homan to Minneapolis amid unrest from ICE actions and shootings, while a major investigation into welfare fraud is ongoing
In a significant federal initiative in Minneapolis, which is currently experiencing unrest due to ICE crackdowns and shootings, US President Donald Trump announced on Monday that he will dispatch border czar Tom Homan to Minneapolis, who will report directly to him.
The action comes at a time when DHS Secretary Kristi Noem is experiencing mounting pressure in the wake of fatal shootings by federal immigration enforcement agents in Minneapolis.
“I am sending Tom Homan to Minnesota tonight. He has not been involved in that area, but knows and likes many of the people there,” Trump said in a Truth Social post. “Tom is tough but fair, and will report directly to me.”
“Separately, a major investigation is going on with respect to the massive 20 Billion Dollar, Plus, Welfare Fraud that has taken place in Minnesota, and is at least partially responsible for the violent organized protests going on in the streets. Additionally, the DOJ and Congress are looking at “Congresswoman” Illhan Omar, who left Somalia with NOTHING, and is now reportedly worth more than 44 Million Dollars. Time will tell all,” Trump added.
Tom Homan vs Kristi Noem: What we know about ‘bitter feud’ between Trump's officials
Citing insiders, Axios earlier reported that Trump's border czar and his homeland security secretary barely speak to or meet with each other.
Tensions escalated to such an extreme in December that the White House became inundated with rumors and news reports suggesting that Noem had fallen out of favor with Trump and was on the verge of being dismissed.
Noem's supporters attributed the rumor mill to backers of her rival within the administration, Homan.
Homan's supporters, however, refuted any claims of involvement.
According to the Axios report, insiders both within and outside the White House asserted that neither Noem nor Homan is expected to leave their positions.
Trump later clarified that he was nor seeking any change. “Kristi's doing a great job,” the POTUS remarked unprompted to an adviser, who subsequently shared the conversation with Axios.
“Her and Tom don't get along,” he further quipped, as per the source adding, “But they're doing great.”
The precise reason for the tensions between Noem and Homan remains unclear, but sources suggested to Axios that the conflict, which has been developing for months, is at least partly due to a clash of personalities.
Kristi Noem hails Trump's Homan move
Despite the reported clash, Noem has publicly expressed support for Trump's decision regarding Homan.
Welcoming Trump's move, Noem stated on X, “This is good news for peace, safety, and accountability in Minneapolis.”
"I have worked closely with Tom over the last year and he has been a major asset to our team— his experience and insight will help us in our wide-scale fraud investigations, which have robbed Americans, and will help us to remove even more public safety threats and violent criminal illegal aliens off the streets of Minneapolis.
“We continue to call on the leadership in Minnesota to allow for state and local partnership in our public safety mission.”
