In yet another sign of breakdown within President Donald Trump's Homeland Security operations, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and White House "border czar" Tom Homan have fallen out, and are barely even speaking to each other, Axios reported on Thursday.
Homan, a former acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, has been a public face of Trump's immigration policies and caused a stir by repeatedly threatening the arrest of mayors and Democratic officials who don't cooperate with federal agents — though even he tried to cool down the tension when Trump threatened to arrest California Gov. Gavin Newsom in the summer. He has also been investigated for taking a $50,000 bribe from undercover FBI agents, although nothing appears to have come of it.
This comes after initial reporting that the Trump administration was considering removing Noem as head of DHS, possibly at the direction of White House adviser Stephen Miller — which the administration has thoroughly denied, and which it turns out may have been a rumor planted by Homan's allies as the feud between them grows.
While "Noem's backers blamed the whisper campaign," on Homan's associates, they "deny any involvement," said the report. "Neither Noem nor Homan are going anywhere, according to administration officials inside and outside the White House. Trump has shown no signs of wanting a change."
Trump is aware of the enmity between his two key immigration officials, the report said, and it doesn't bother him. One source told Axios, "Trump is like that. He kind of likes people competing against each other. He thinks it makes the product better."
As all of this is going on, however, other Trump administration insiders are frustrated with Noem, both for using government resources to promote her own political brand, and farming out so many decisions to Trump campaign strategist Corey Lewandowski, with whom she has long been rumored to be having a romantic affair.