Kristi Noem faces more scrutiny as she's accused of causing major national security risk by ignoring TSA flaw at airports
By Stephen M. Lepore
Daily Mail
Feb 27, 2026
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) inspector general Joseph Cuffari's report referred to Noem's decision last summer to get rid of requirements forcing passengers to take off their shoes when going through screenings.
In November, Cuffari filed a classified report claiming that TSA scanners are unable to scan shoes - meaning that Noem's new rule had created newfound airport security risks, The Wall Street Journal reported.
DHS officials allegedly blocked the watchdog's filing - which expanded on problems Cuffari claimed he made Noem aware of this past August - from being released to the public and gave it a higher level of classification.
Homeland security officials told WSJ that Noem's treatment of the report is typical of her attitude toward national security concerns.
Noem, who has been nicknamed 'ICE Barbie,' was also accused by department-wide officials of being more concerned with her public image and standing with Donald Trump than DHS's actual work.
A spokesperson for DHS told The Daily Mail that they had appropriately responded to the report and disputed Cuffari's claims.
They also argued that many of his recommendations had already been put into practice.
The report refers to Noem getting rid of requirements forcing passengers to take off their shoes when going through screenings
As far as getting rid of the policy of taking your shoes off, DHS claimed it had been tested and risk assessed over a thousand times, dating back to the Biden administration.
Cuffari told Congress in a letter, dated February 17, that DHS and TSA have not responded to any request to deal with the problem, breaking the law by not addressing his recommendations within three months.
He wrote that he made 'four recommendations for corrective action' that TSA has yet to engage with. A department spokesperson disputed that.
Many White House officials are allegedly unaware of the report.
Trump's press secretary Karoline Leavitt told the Daily Mail in response to the allegations: 'President Trump and Secretary Noem have ensured the most secure border in our Nation’s history and our homeland is undoubtedly safer today than it was when the President took office last year.
'The President continues to have full confidence in the Secretary.'
The Daily Mail has reached out to DHS for further comment.
After more than two decades of forcing travelers to remove their shoes in airport security lines, the shoe removal requirement was suddenly pulled effective immediately last July.
According to an internal memo at the time, the policy shift appeared to be tied to recent improvements in screening technology and an updated assessment of current security threats.
Travelers enrolled in TSA PreCheck have long enjoyed the privilege of keeping their shoes on but now that same courtesy is being extended to the general public.
DHS inspector general Joseph Cuffari (pictured) referred to Noem getting rid of requirements forcing passengers to take off their shoes when going through screenings
The policy shift appeared to be tied to recent improvements in screening technology and an updated assessment of current security threats
To bypass the shoe rule, passengers must hold a federally approved REAL ID or passport to board a domestic flight, with a standard driver's license no longer cutting it.
Travelers requiring special security procedures may still be asked to remove their footwear under the new requirements.
The original rule was introduced in the wake of the 2001 incident involving Richard Reid, infamously known as the 'Shoe Bomber,' who attempted to detonate explosives hidden in his sneakers during a transatlantic flight.
Since then, passengers have been required to walk through security checkpoints barefoot or in socks unless they were PreCheck members, under 12, or over 75 years old.
Noem has been as under fire as any cabinet secretary under the second Trump administration, especially following the two ICE-involved shootings in Minnesota in January.
Last week, it was reported that Noem has developed a secret plan to quit the Trump administration to run for the Senate as voters begin turning on the president's mass deportation agenda.
Noem and her rumored lover Corey Lewandowski commissioned a poll to evaluate her approval rating with the public, a source told the Daily Mail.
Around this time, however, voters in South Dakota were asked whom they would vote for in a matchup between herself and the state's Republican Sen. Mike Rounds, according to the Atlantic.
Noem and her rumored lover Corey Lewandowski commissioned a poll to evaluate her approval rating with the public, a source told the Daily Mail last week
Last week, it was reported that Noem has developed a secret plan to quit the Trump administration to run for the Senate as voters begin turning on the president's mass deportation agenda
Noem previously served two terms as South Dakota's governor before joining Trump's cabinet.
The possibility of Noem running to electoral office in the state has prompted clandestine discussions among advisers close to Trump about waiting to shake up Homeland Security leadership until after next month's filing deadline, according to the Atlantic.
Noem’s potential departure from Homeland Security would make her the first cabinet secretary to exit the Trump administration since the start of his second term.
Her tenure at DHS has been marred by allegations of corruption and bitter infighting within the department.
Widespread reports paint a culture of fear among the rank-and-file in Homeland Security as Noem and Lewandowski openly began firing and demoting officials not viewed as loyal to her for the past year.
The department has splintered into two camps: those loyal to Noem and a bloc of career law enforcement officials aligned with Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, multiple DHS insiders have revealed.
Homan’s decades-long career in immigration enforcement has earned him credibility among law enforcement officials frustrated with Noem and Lewandowski’s leadership.
As pressure grows for Noem to meet Trump's deportation goals, approximately 80 percent of career leadership at ICE has been fired or demoted by Noem.
After the death of Pretti, Trump sidelined Noem by placing Homan in charge of the immigration crackdown in Minneapolis.
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