President Donald Trump treated Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem coldly during his Cabinet meeting at the White House on Thursday. Noem was present, but Trump didn’t invite her to speak or even notice her. She appeared serious and upset as she listened to others.
Noem has come under criticism from both political parties following the recent incident where federal agents shot and killed Alex Pretti in Minneapolis less than a week earlier.
During the televised portion of the meeting, which lasted about 80 minutes, Trump addressed several Cabinet members. However, immigration, a major focus for Trump, wasn’t discussed much, as public anger grew over the administration’s actions and the deaths of U.S. citizens by ICE.
Several top officials were called on to speak, including Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr., HUD Secretary Scott Turner, Energy Secretary Chris Wright, Small Business Administrator Kelly Loeffler, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
Others like Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, and Agriculture Secretary Brook Rollins were acknowledged or given shoutouts.
Trump praised Attorney General Pam Bondi, saying, “Pam, you’re doing great,” and invited Vice President JD Vance to speak.
Although Trump said he wouldn’t call on every Cabinet member this time, saying the meetings were “boring,” not including Noem or mentioning her at all was unusual, especially since the administration is dealing with controversy over ICE.
Noem recently called Pretti a domestic terrorist shortly after his death on Saturday, leading to calls for her to resign or face impeachment.
The White House has tried to distance Trump from Noem’s comments amid the scandal.
As tensions rise in Minneapolis and public trust in Trump’s immigration policies drops, he sent border czar Tom Homan to Minnesota.
Despite his public support for Noem, the move shows the administration is struggling.
Trump said on Wednesday that Noem was doing a “very good job” and would not resign.
However, the changes in his team highlight the difficulties the administration is facing.
Republican Senators Thom Tillis and Lisa Murkowski called for Noem to step down.
Other GOP lawmakers want an independent investigation into Pretti’s death.
The White House is also negotiating with Senate Democrats to avoid a government shutdown in under 48 hours.
Democrats want the DHS funding removed and renegotiated after the ICE killing.
On Thursday, Trump said they were close to a deal, as the vote on the full funding package failed.
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