FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 05, 2026
March 05, 2026
Contact:
Tim Kauffman
202-374-6491
[email protected]
AFGE President Responds to Removal of DHS Secretary Kristi Noem
Largest federal employee labor union was among first to call for Noem’s outster following deadly Minneapolis attack
WASHINGTON – American Federation of Government Employees National President Everett Kelley today issued the following statement in response to President Trump’s removal of Kristi Noem as secretary of the Department of Homeland Security:
“AFGE was among the first to call for the removal of Kristi Noem on January 26, two days after our union brother Alex Pretti was killed in Minneapolis. Accountability matters, and this action was long overdue.
“Secretary Noem’s tenure was a disaster for the men and women of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. She gutted leadership at the Federal Emergency Management Agency and bottlenecked disaster relief. She attacked the rights of officers at the Transportation Security Administration. She drove an exodus of experienced professionals from across the department.
“She is gone. But the DHS shutdown is not.
“For the third time since October, employees at TSA, FEMA, the U.S. Coast Guard, and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency are working without a paycheck due to a lapse in appropriations.
“Meanwhile, the United States has entered a large-scale military conflict in the Middle East. The threat to the homeland is real and growing. This is exactly the kind of moment Congress created DHS to confront after the September 11 attacks. A well-functioning and well-funded TSA is vital to protecting the American people from terrorism.
“Secretary Noem’s removal changes the political dynamics that produced this standoff. Congress should seize this moment and immediately pass a measure to make sure the men and women protecting our country are being paid.”
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