Sen. Tim Kaine says supporting Kristi Noem as DHS secretary was a "big mistake" [View all]

Source: CBS News

March 8, 2026 / 1:50 PM EDT / CBS News


Washington — Sen. Tim Kaine, a Virginia Democrat, expressed regret on Sunday for supporting Kristi Noem for Department of Homeland Security secretary last year. "Big mistake," Kaine said on "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan."

President Trump announced Thursday that Noem would leave her role following a string of controversies that boiled over last week. The president announced that he had selected GOP Sen. Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma as her replacement.

Kaine was one of seven Democrats who voted in favor of Noem's confirmation to the role at the helm of DHS last year. On Sunday, Kaine, a former governor, pointed to Noem's time leading South Dakota as his justification for supporting her confirmation, saying "governors are often good Cabinet secretaries."

"But what we learned, and this bears going forward, is that she wasn't calling the shots," Kaine said. "Stephen Miller is calling the shots, and as long as he is calling the shots without reforms, this is going to continue to be a very, very rogue, renegade department."

Read more: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/tim-kaine-kristi-noem-confirmation-vote-homeland-security/