--- title: What Is Kristi Noem’s New Job in the Trump Administration? description: While the Administration has shared little information about the "Shield of the Americas" position so far, here’s what we do know. canonical: https://time.com/7382975/kristi-noem-new-job-shield-of-americas/ author: Chantelle Lee article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2026-03-06T22:07:55.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-03-19T11:51:32.813Z article:section: Politics og:title: What Is Kristi Noem’s New Job in the Trump Administration? og:description: The Administration has shared little about the "Shield of the Americas" position so far. But here’s what we do know. og:url: https://time.com/7382975/kristi-noem-new-job-shield-of-americas/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9de5740dd63d0a78/69b048afe2697a70e4473e80/Noem-New-Role.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem Testifies To Senate Judiciary Committee og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: What Is Kristi Noem’s New Job in the Trump Administration? twitter:description: The Administration has shared little about the "Shield of the Americas" position so far. But here’s what we do know. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9de5740dd63d0a78/69b048afe2697a70e4473e80/Noem-New-Role.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # What Is Kristi Noem’s New Role in the Trump Administration? by [Chantelle Lee](https://time.com/author/chantelle-lee/) ## Chantelle Lee Reporter Mar 6, 2026 10:07 PM UTC  U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on March 3, 2026 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by/Getty Images) U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on March 3, 2026 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by/Getty Images)Andrew Harnik—Getty Images by [Chantelle Lee](https://time.com/author/chantelle-lee/) ## Chantelle Lee Reporter Mar 6, 2026 10:07 PM UTC When President Donald Trump declared that he would [remove](https://time.com/7382719/kristi-noem-removed-homeland-security-secretary-markwayne-mullin/) Kristi Noem, who was facing mounting criticism from Congress, as Homeland Security Secretary, he also announced that she would take a new role in his Administration: “Special Envoy for the Shield of the Americas.” “The current Secretary, Kristi Noem, who has served us well, and has had numerous and spectacular results (especially on the Border!), will be moving to be Special Envoy for The Shield of the Americas, our new Security Initiative in the Western Hemisphere,” Trump said in his [Truth Social post](https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/116178030946996760) on Thursday. The President’s announcement came as Noem had been facing backlash over the tactics her department was deploying in the Administration’s crackdown on immigration. In January, federal officers [shot](https://time.com/7344506/minneapolis-ice-shooting-mayor/) and [killed](https://time.com/7357547/minneapolis-shooting-ice-agent/) two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis amid protests against [immigration enforcement operations](https://time.com/7368923/minneapolis-ice-operation-protests-renee-good-alex-pretti/), provoking outrage among [voters](https://time.com/7344804/minneapolis-ice-shooting-protests-renee-nicole-good/) and [lawmakers](https://time.com/7357746/ice-funding-shutdown-schumer/). This week, Noem appeared before members of Congress, who scrutinized a $220 million government advertising campaign that she appeared in. While Noem said that Trump himself had approved the campaign, the President later told [Reuters](https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-says-he-didnt-sign-off-200-million-border-security-ad-campaign-2026-03-05/) that he “never knew anything about it.” **Read More:** [_Who is Markwayne Mullin, the New Homeland Security Secretary?_](https://time.com/7382769/markwayne-mullin-homeland-security-secretary-kristi-noem/) A number of Democrats [celebrated](https://x.com/CAgovernor/status/2029640917678968875) Noem’s ousting from DHS, [calling](https://x.com/GovWesMoore/status/2029649318383366639) it “long overdue.” But Noem will still play a role in the Trump Administration in her new position. While the Administration has shared little information about the position so far, here’s everything we do know. ## **What is a special envoy?** A special envoy serves on behalf of the President or the Secretary of State, typically to focus on a particular policy issue. “Special envoys can operate outside of the typical reach of an ambassador to address complex, multilateral issues,” according to [Ballotpedia](https://ballotpedia.org/Special%5Fenvoys%5Fby%5Fadministration). “Since they are responsive to the needs of each administration, there is no set number of special envoys.” ## **What is the Shield of the Americas?** The Trump Administration hasn’t shared details about what the Shield of the Americas entails, beyond the President saying that it is a “new Security Initiative in the Western Hemisphere,” which he will formally announce on Saturday. In a [post on X](https://x.com/Sec%5FNoem/status/2029647010002055467), Noem thanked Trump for the appointment. She said that the new role would involve working “closely” with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth “to dismantle cartels that have poured drugs into our nation and killed our children and grandchildren.” “The Western Hemisphere is absolutely critical for U.S. security,” she continued. “In this new role, I will be able to build on the partnerships and national security expertise, I forged over the last 13 months as Secretary of Homeland Security.” ## **Trump and the Americas** In December, the Trump Administration shared a [new national security strategy](https://time.com/7339171/trump-national-security-strategy-europe/), which outlined its intention to “restore American preeminence in the Western Hemisphere,” including by working with partners to “control migration, stop drug flows, and strengthen stability and security on land and sea.” The document also laid out the Administration’s plans to conduct “targeted deployments to secure the border and defeat cartels, including where necessary the use of lethal force to replace the failed law enforcement-only strategy of the last several decades.” The President has escalated U.S. actions against drug trafficking in Latin America since he took office for a second term, including by authorizing military [strikes](https://time.com/7328921/cartel-boats-pete-hegseth-pacific/) in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean on [alleged drug smuggling boats](https://time.com/7326921/trump-venezuela-caribbean-drug-boats-maduro/) that have left about 150 dead since September, according to the [New York _Times_](https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/10/29/us/us-caribbean-pacific-boat-strikes.html). The Trump Administration also initiated a months-long [pressure campaign](https://time.com/7340252/venezuela-oil-tanker-trump-machado-maduro/) against former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro that culminated in his [capture](https://time.com/7342864/venezuela-caracas-strikes-trump/) during a U.S. military operation in the South American country in January. Maduro was brought to a New York court, where he [pleaded](https://time.com/7343200/maduro-venezuela-charges-court-plea-cilia-flores/) not guilty to drug trafficking charges. The federal government also assisted the Mexican government in an operation that resulted in Mexican forces [killing](https://time.com/7380435/mexico-el-mencho-oseguera-drug-cartel-military-operation-cjng-usa/) a drug kingpin known as “El Mencho” in February. This week, officials revealed that the U.S. and Ecuador had launched a [joint military operation](https://time.com/7382803/us-ecuador-joint-military-operations-drug-trafficking-cartels/) to tackle narcoterrorism in the South American nation. Many of these initiatives have sparked controversy. Legal experts have questioned the legality of the Trump Administration’s deadly strikes on alleged drug boats. [Several foreign leaders](https://time.com/7342925/venezuela-maduro-capture-reaction/) said they were alarmed by the U.S. attack that led to Maduro’s capture, and Democratic lawmakers [slammed](https://time.com/7343574/trump-impeachment-calls-gather-pace-venezuela-fallout/) the President for authorizing the military operation in Venezuela without getting approval from Congress beforehand. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/7382975/kristi-noem-new-job-shield-of-americas/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/7382975/kristi-noem-new-job-shield-of-americas/"},"headline":"What Is Kristi Noem’s New Role in the Trump Administration?","datePublished":"2026-03-06T22:07:55.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-19T11:51:32.813Z","description":"While the Trump Administration has shared little information about the \"Shield of the Americas\" position so far, here’s what we do know.","url":"https://time.com/7382975/kristi-noem-new-job-shield-of-americas/","keywords":["Trump Administration","News Desk"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9de5740dd63d0a78/69b048afe2697a70e4473e80/Noem-New-Role.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Chantelle Lee","jobTitle":"Reporter","url":"https://time.com/author/chantelle-lee/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9de5740dd63d0a78/69b048afe2697a70e4473e80/Noem-New-Role.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem Testifies To Senate Judiciary Committee","caption":"Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem Testifies To Senate Judiciary Committee","creditText":"Andrew Harnik—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/trump-administration/","name":"Trump Administration"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/7382975/kristi-noem-new-job-shield-of-americas/","name":"What Is Kristi Noem’s New Role in the Trump Administration?"}}]}] ```