Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem gave an interview answer on Sunday that some experts and political observers determined was an "admission" warranting legal action.
Noem appeared on NBC News over the weekend, where she was asked about how she reportedly rejected a court's order.
Kristin Welker asked, "The DOJ said that when the administration was ordered to stop sending detained migrants to a mega-prison in El Salvador, you personally made the final call to continue the flights anyways. Is that correct?" to which Noem replied, "The decisions that are made on deportations, where flights go or when they go, are my decision."
Welker further pressed Noem, asking, "So you're saying it was your decision. The judge wanted to ensure that people were given due process…Did you defy the court's order?" Noem replied, "No. That's one of the things we continue to face across the country are activist judges."
That interview caused ex-GOP insider Tim Miller to blurt out, "See you in court, secretary."
Home of the Brave chimed in, "Kristi Noem is making it abundantly clear that she will continue to defy court orders. She's not even trying to claim otherwise!"
Columnist Molly Jong-Fast simply quoted the apparent admission:
"The decisions that are made on deportations, where flights go or when they go, are my decision."
Immigration expert Aaron Reichlin-Melnick also weighed in, saying on X on Sunday, "As Kristi Noem admits to making the decision not to turn the planes around, bear in mind that the Supreme Court unanimously agreed that the procedure to shove those men onto the plane to be imprisoned (and tortured) in El Salvador was a violation of due process."
