Former DHS secretary Kristi Noem files for divorce

Open this photo in gallery:Former DHS secretary Kristi Noem with her husband Bryon Noem in March. The two have been married for 34 years.J. Scott Applewhite/The Associated PressFormer Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has filed for divorce from her husband of 34 years.Noem, who was tasked with leading U.S. President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown from January, 2025, to March, 2026, and previously served as South Dakota’s governor, is seeking a divorce from Bryon Noem in their home state. The two married in May, 1992, and have three children.The filing, made in April but posted online on Monday, comes after questions arose earlier this year about the nature of Kristi Noem’s relationship with a top adviser. The complaint, filed in Hamlin County, notes “irreconcilable differences” as grounds for the divorce.Retired U.S. Navy commander resigns from NovaRed Mining over hiring of Kristi NoemIn a statement, Kristi Noem’s attorney confirmed she has filed for divorce and said she will reserve further comments for the legal process. Lawyers for Bryon Noem did not immediately respond to requests for comment.A day before Noem was ousted from her post in Trump’s cabinet, members of Congress questioned her about an alleged extramarital affair with Corey Lewandowski, a special government employee and one of the secretary’s lead advisers. He was Trump’s first campaign manager in 2016 and appeared to play an outsized role in Noem’s department, even though his position was supposed to have a limit on days worked.Noem denied the allegations that they were having an affair, dismissing them as “tabloid garbage.”Noem out at Homeland Security as public support for Trump’s immigration policy slidesOnce a close ally to Trump, Noem became a liability for the Republican president as questions arose over her conduct following the shooting deaths of two protesters in Minneapolis at the hands of immigration officers. Noem characterized both Renee Good and Alex Pretti as aggressors, contradicting videos from the scene and descriptions of their deaths from bystanders. She also faced criticism from fellow Republicans for her spending at her department.Trump nominated Markwayne Mullin, then a U.S. senator from Oklahoma, in Noem’s place and made her a special envoy for The Shield of the Americas, a new security initiative focused on the Western Hemisphere.