DHS Spox Confirms She is Leaving Trump Administration

The Department of Homeland Security will soon see a key communications leader depart, as Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin prepares to step down next week after playing a central role in advancing President Donald J. Trump’s second-term homeland security and immigration enforcement agenda.

McLaughlin has been among the most visible defenders of the administration’s border security and interior enforcement operations, routinely taking on critics in the media and on Capitol Hill while articulating the administration’s law-and-order priorities.

DHS Secretary Kristi Noem confirmed the transition in a public post on X, commending McLaughlin’s service and leadership.

“Tricia McLaughlin has served with exceptional dedication, tenacity, and professionalism as Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs at the Department of Homeland Security,” Noem wrote. “She has played an instrumental role in advancing our mission to secure the homeland and keep Americans safe. While we are sad to see her leave, we are grateful for her service and wish Tricia nothing but success.”

McLaughlin also shared her own statement on X, thanking President Donald J. Trump and DHS leadership for the opportunity to serve during what she described as a historic chapter for the department.

“I am enormously grateful to President Trump, Secretary Noem, and the American people for the honor and privilege to serve this great nation,” McLaughlin wrote. “I am immensely proud of the team we built and the historic accomplishments achieved by this Administration and the Department of Homeland Security.”

She announced that Lauren Bis — whom she called “an extraordinary talent” who has been with her since the beginning of the Trump administration — will assume the role of Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs. Katie Zacharia will step in as Spokeswoman and Deputy Assistant Secretary.

According to a source familiar with her plans, McLaughlin had originally intended to depart as early as December but chose to remain amid several high-profile incidents involving DHS components, including the shooting deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis last month.

Addressing the case involving Renee Good, McLaughlin described the episode as “an act of domestic terrorism” and stated that an ICE officer discharged “defensive shots” after a vehicle was allegedly driven toward law enforcement personnel. Politico first reported that McLaughlin was planning to exit DHS next week.

Throughout her tenure, McLaughlin emerged as a consistent and unapologetic advocate for the administration’s aggressive immigration enforcement posture. She frequently highlighted data showing an increase in assaults on federal immigration officers and forcefully countered claims from Democratic lawmakers and activist groups that ICE operations were unlawful or inhumane.

In one notable exchange, she dismissed assertions from Senate Judiciary Democrats that 2025 had become the deadliest year in decades for immigrants in ICE custody, accusing them of “trying to twist data to smear ICE law enforcement” and emphasizing that there had been “NO spike in deaths.”

She further maintained that detainees in ICE custody receive proper medical attention and, in her words, a “higher standard of care” than what is provided in many U.S. prisons — a rebuttal aimed at critics who have sought to portray enforcement operations as reckless or abusive.

As news of her departure spread, McLaughlin also issued a detailed defense of DHS’s use of Coast Guard aircraft in migrant transport missions. She explained that one aircraft had been redirected for search-and-rescue operations and accused detractors of attempting to “politicize this mission and tragic loss of life.” Some critics had questioned whether Coast Guard resources were being deployed appropriately in support of immigration enforcement.

An Ohio native, McLaughlin previously served during President Trump’s first term at the Treasury Department under then-Secretary Steven Mnuchin and at the State Department, where she worked on arms control matters. She later held the role of political communications director for Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine and served as a senior adviser on Vivek Ramaswamy’s 2024 Republican presidential campaign.

Her departure represents a significant shift within DHS communications at a time when the Trump administration continues to emphasize border sovereignty, interior enforcement, and the protection of federal officers carrying out their duties.

McLaughlin concluded her announcement with a forward-looking message that underscores her continued commitment to those priorities: “I look forward to continuing the fight ahead.”