Kristi Noem Hearing: Senator Kennedy Grills DHS Secretary, Says She Put Trump in 'Awkward Spot'
Noem defended DHS advertising and answered questions about her statements on the Minneapolis shootings and immigration enforcement.

SOURCE CHECK
TAP FOR WHYNewsweek is an established national news publisher with named authors and an identifiable editorial outlet. The article provides direct quotations and attribution, though it offers limited independent documentation or detailed sourcing for the spending and contracting claims.
- Source type — Established national news publisher.
- Author attribution — Two authors are named.
- Editorial standards — The report attributes claims and includes direct testimony, but provides little supporting documentation.
The story presents direct exchanges from the hearing and includes responses from Noem and questions from both parties. It gives limited independent evidence about the ad contracts and little detail about the broader context or the claims concerning the shootings.
HOW WE SCORE ↗The report includes criticism from both parties and Noem's answers, but relies primarily on hearing exchanges and gives little independent context or documentation to assess the underlying claims.
- Counterarguments presented — Noem responds to questions about the advertising, her earlier statements and DHS enforcement.
- Source diversity — Features questions from a Republican senator and Democrats, along with Noem's testimony.
- Omitted context — Provides limited independent detail about the ad contracts and the circumstances behind the disputed statements.
The article reports the hearing exchanges in largely neutral language, quoting Kennedy, Noem and Durbin. Its focus on criticism of Noem does not by itself establish a partisan lean.
- Language tone — Mostly descriptive language, with no sustained ideological judgment.
- Source selection — Includes statements and questions from Republican and Democratic senators as well as Noem's responses.
- Framing — Centers on scrutiny of Noem but presents the hearing exchanges and competing responses.
At a Senate hearing, Senator John Kennedy challenged Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem over a $220 million DHS ad campaign and whether President Trump approved it. Noem also faced questions about her statements after two protesters were fatally shot in Minneapolis.
During testimony Tuesday, Kennedy questioned Noem about DHS and ICE television ads, their cost, and whether Trump had approved the campaign. Noem said the president had tasked her with getting a message out and confirmed that contracts had been put out for bids. Kennedy said the spending could put Trump in an awkward spot and questioned the campaign’s cost while the government was seeking to cut waste.
Kennedy and Democratic senators also questioned Noem about her statements describing the two people killed in Minneapolis as domestic terrorists. Senator Dick Durbin asked whether she would retract those statements; Noem expressed condolences and said officials were gathering information, while Durbin said agents had not called Alex Pretti a domestic terrorist. Noem also said DHS follows the law as enacted by Congress when asked about court orders and reports of DACA recipients being deported.
Community verdict
24 VOTESPeople in this story
SWIPE →Homeland Security secretary testifying before the Senate
Office of Management and Budget director cited in relation to spending concerns
President referenced in questions about the DHS advertising campaign
Senator questioning Noem about her statements on the Minneapolis shootings
Part of a bigger story
10 OUTLETSSen. John Kennedy questioned Kristi Noem at a Senate hearing about a $220 million DHS ad campaign. President Trump later said he had not approved the spending, and Noem left the department for another government role. Center outlets connect the hearing and conflicting accounts about Trump’s approval to Noem’s departure. Right-leaning outlets foreground Kennedy’s account of Trump’s response and the departure that followed.
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