Kristi Noem set to face senators over DHS shutdown, immigration enforcement

Source: NPR

March 3, 2026 5:00 AM ET


Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem is expected to testify before members of the Senate on Tuesday amid a pause in funding to her agency and increased scrutiny of her leadership.

The Department of Homeland Security has been shut down for nearly a month after lawmakers failed to negotiate a budget deal to fund the agency and agree on changes to how immigration officers operate.

Noem is expected to tell lawmakers on the Senate Judiciary Committee how the shutdown is affecting regular Americans, including making air travel more difficult as employees with the Transportation Security Administration work without pay. Watch Noem testify at 9 a.m. ET Tuesday:

But the focus of the hearing is likely to be on how Noem has been pursuing President Trump's mass deportation efforts in his second term. DHS is the agency that oversees both Customs and Border Protection, or CBP, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE.

Read more: https://www.npr.org/2026/03/03/nx-s1-5732788/kristi-noem-judiciary-hearing-homeland-security