Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks as US President Donald Trump's border czar Tom Homan looks on, during a press conference after a CBP officer was shot by a criminal illegal alien, in New York City, July 21, 2025. © REUTERS/Jeenah Moon
(Washington, DC) – There’s trouble in MAGA land. At least, if a report from left-leaning Axios is to be believed. The word is Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and border czar Tom Homan are barely on speaking terms, amid a bitter feud. But Axios doesn’t report either is in danger of losing their job — even if it’s true that tensions are high.
An adviser told Axios that Trump said: “Kristi’s doing a great job… Her and Tom don’t get along, but they’re doing great.” And the adviser continued that friction may not be a bad thing in Trump’s eyes: “Trump is like that. He kind of likes people competing against each other. He thinks it makes the product better.”
Axios doesn’t make it clear what the potential source of their beef could be. That said, their reporting suggests immigration officials who have made a career of working for DHS or CBP are less-than-impressed with Noem’s tenure. Supposedly her self-deportation efforts are internally unpopular — including the CBP Home self-deportation app. Top adviser Corey Lewandowski’s outsized influence may be a source of tension, as well.
As for Noem and her allies, Axios says Homan has ruffled feathers with routine appearances on Fox News and a general tendency to self-promote. Fox News reported on a difference of opinion October. Apparently Noem, Lewandowski, and senior leaders within the Border Patrol were pushing for widespread deportations, so as to boost numbers. Homan and members of the ICE brass wanted to keep focusing on deporting known criminals.
A DHS official spoke to Fox News and said: “ICE started off with the worst of the worst, knowing every target they are hitting, but since Border Patrol came to LA in June, we’ve lost our focus, going too hard, too fast, with limited prioritization. It’s getting numbers, but at what cost?” On the flipside, an ICE official said their agency is “arresting criminal aliens. (While) They [Border Patrol] are hitting Home Depots and car washes.”
