Retiring Tillis Blocks Trump’s DHS Nominees Over Beef With Noem
Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., is openly challenging President Donald J. Trump’s administration by threatening to block Department of Homeland Security nominees until DHS Secretary Kristi Noem agrees to testify before Congress—a move that has rattled Senate Republicans eager to staff key national security positions.
Tillis announced Tuesday that he is placing holds on future DHS nominations after Noem declined to commit to appearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, calling her continued absence from Capitol Hill “unacceptable.”
“My chairman has made two requests in this Congress to have the Homeland Security Secretary [Kristi Noem] come before the committee, and they have yet to confirm that they’re coming,” Tillis said. “That is unacceptable, and so I am putting a hold on anything related to Homeland Security measures until we get an agreement and a scheduled time to come for committee at the least.”
The move effectively stalls President Trump’s DHS nominees unless Noem agrees to testify, according to Tillis, who insisted the action is procedural rather than ideological. He emphasized that the blockade is unrelated to the recent deadly Minneapolis incident involving an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent, in which 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good was fatally shot during a federal enforcement operation.
Tillis said he may allow limited exceptions for nominees connected to disaster response but otherwise plans to maintain the holds until Noem appears before the committee.
The dispute follows two formal invitations from Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley requesting Noem’s testimony—one sent in June and another in September—neither of which received a response.
The standoff comes as Senate Republicans have touted the historically rapid pace at which they have confirmed President Trump’s second-term nominees. Tillis, however, has frequently positioned himself as a maverick within the party. Last year, he opposed Trump’s signature “big, beautiful bill,” citing concerns over Medicaid cuts, and later announced he would not seek re-election in 2026.
He has also publicly criticized the administration on other fronts, including remarks opposing discussion of using military force to assert U.S. control over Greenland. “I’m sick of stupid,” Tillis said on the Senate floor this week, urging the president’s inner circle to provide better counsel on the issue.
Despite his occasional break with the White House, Tillis voted this week against a resolution aimed at limiting President Trump’s authority to use military force in Venezuela. That measure nonetheless advanced with the support of five Republican senators.
The confirmation impasse unfolds as tensions surrounding immigration enforcement continue to escalate nationwide. On Thursday, protesters gathered at Foley Square in New York City were captured on video chanting violent threats against federal officials, including a chant declaring, “Kristi Noem will hang,” during demonstrations opposing the Trump administration’s immigration policies.
Footage circulating on social media showed demonstrators holding anti-ICE signs and chanting slogans directed at federal authorities. No arrests were reported, and city officials did not immediately respond to the chants.
That same day, federal agents shot and wounded two individuals during a targeted vehicle stop in southeast Portland, Oregon, according to local and federal authorities. Portland police said officers responded around 2:18 p.m. to reports of gunfire near Southeast 82nd Avenue, where they found a man and a woman suffering from gunshot wounds. Both were transported for treatment and were reported to be alive. Authorities confirmed that no local police officers fired their weapons.
As President Trump presses forward with his second-term agenda to restore law and order and enforce federal immigration law, the Tillis-Noem standoff highlights growing internal GOP friction—set against a backdrop of increasingly aggressive protests and rising threats against federal officials.