Breaking: Kristi Noem Out as Trump's Special Envoy for the Shield of the Americas

Kristi Noem is no longer President Donald Trump’s special envoy for the Shield of the Americas, but she will continue working on the initiative as a senior adviser to Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau, a State Department official said Thursday. CBS News first reported the change, which NewsNation later confirmed.

“Kristi Noem’s envoy status expired last month and she is no longer in the role,” the official said.

“She is now a senior advisor to Deputy Secretary Landau and continues to work on the Shield of the Americas portfolio.”

State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott also confirmed that Noem’s appointment had lapsed, without explaining why.

“We’ve seen the secretary’s time as envoy expire,” Pigott said, according to The Hill.

“She continues to be at the State Department as a senior adviser,” he added.

The Shield of the Americas is a Trump administration initiative involving countries in the Americas and the Caribbean, focused on organized crime and drug trafficking. Noem was appointed its first special envoy in March after leaving the Department of Homeland Security. The assignment was widely viewed as a reduced role following her departure from DHS.

Her DHS tenure had been marked by controversy. One dispute centered on her congressional testimony about a $220 million advertising campaign that critics said promoted Noem rather than the department’s mission. The episode was reported as a factor in Trump’s decision to remove her from the department. Sen. Markwayne Mullin succeeded her as DHS secretary.

The source also cited allegations about Noem’s conduct, including a claim that she had a pilot fired over a misplaced blanket.

Although her envoy designation expired before the United Nations General Assembly in September, Noem continued attending meetings in New York. CBS reported that her public activity in the role had been limited and that the General Assembly was her last major appearance as envoy.

Noem’s next position in the administration remains unclear. Pigott told NewsNation that her continued work reflects changes in how such roles are structured.

“There’s always these types of changes that happen,” Pigott told NewsNation. “This is part of what’s happening with these positions. But, certainly, we remain dedicated to implementing the president’s agenda across the board.”