Top Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin is leaving President Donald Trump’s administration after a tumultuous year marked by rancorous public commentary and accusations that she often misled the public.
In a post on X, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem praised McLaughlin’s performance on the job, which she’s held since the beginning of the Trump administration.
“Tricia McLaughlin has served with exceptional dedication, tenacity, and professionalism,” Noem said.
During her time as spokesperson, McLaughlin took on a high-profile public role defending the administration’s immigration policies on television and social media.
Noem did not say why McLaughlin was leaving but said the department was sad to see her leave and wished her well.
The change comes at a tumultuous time for Noem and the department after the shooting deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis led to calls for Noem to step down.
McLaughlin said Pretti approached Customs and Border Protection officers with a handgun and he “violently resisted” when they tried to disarm him — a claim that was contradicted by bystander videos.
Homeland Security’s public statements repeatedly unraveled under scrutiny during the Trump administration’s enforcement efforts in the Chicago area and McLaughlin herself faced critical attention for her role disseminating false information.
In one example, the federal government claimed agents shot a Chicago resident after their vehicles were rammed and boxed in by “10 cars.” Subsequent video appeared to show agents actually initiated contact with Marimar Martinez’s vehicle before shooting her five times. The agents were not boxed in by a convoy.
In September, a federal agent shot and killed Silverio Villegas-González during a traffic stop. Officials alleged that Villegas-González was fleeing from Immigration and Customs Enforcement in west suburban Franklin Park and had “refused to follow law enforcement commands and drove his car” at officers, striking one of the ICE agents and dragging him “a significant distance.”
“Fearing for his life, the officer discharged his firearm and struck the subject,” the statement continued.
But body-camera footage from the Franklin Park Police Department shows that the agents, one of whom was originally described as critically injured, described their bloody hands and knees to responding police officers as “nothing major” just minutes after the shooting.
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker called her a “known liar” in a December interview with the Tribune.
“It’s one thing if she’s getting false things from people on the ground, which is terrible, but it’s another thing when she’s just putting out statements with no information to back it up, just, you know, a lie, a flat-out lie,” Pritzker said, citing the Villegas-Gonzalez and Martinez incidents in particular.
Christopher Parente, an attorney for Martinez, celebrated McLaughlin’s departure.
”We are pleased with this resignation,” Parente said. “Unless Pinocchio is applying for the position we believe her replacement will be a great improvement and hopefully work to start repairing the credibility of DHS.”
ProPublica reported in November that Homeland Security spent more than $200 million on a taxpayer-funded ad campaign it defended as a crucial tool to stem illegal immigration. McLaughlin’s husband, Ben Yoho, is CEO of a firm that’s a subcontractor on the deal, according to ProPublica.
Homeland Security told ProPublica it “has no involvement with the selection of subcontractors” and “cannot and does not determine, control, or weigh in on who contractors hire.”
The Associated Press contributed.
