What A Day - Sen. Mark Warner Won’t Miss Kristi Noem

Episode Date: March 6, 2026

On Thursday, President Donald Trump fired Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem via a Truth Social post. Her tenure was marked by a photoshoot in a superprison in El Salvador, brutal immigration raids, and the killing of two U.S. citizens killed by federal immigration officers in Minneapolis. It didn’t help that she spent $200 million dollars on an ad campaign featuring – wait for it – Kristi Noem. To make sense of Noem’s exit and the ongoing war in Iran, we hear from Virginia Democratic Senator Mark Warner, vice chairman of the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.And in headlines, the U.S. House rubber stamps Trump’s war with Iran, negative public comments flood a hearing about the White House ballroom rebuild, and two dozen states sue the Trump administration over its latest tariffs.Show Notes: Call Congress – 202-224-3121 Subscribe to the What A Day Newsletter – https://tinyurl.com/y4y2e9jy What A Day – YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcast Follow us on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/ For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday

It's Friday, March 6th. I'm Jane Koston, and this is what a day. The show that says, good luck to Lindsay Halligan, the former U.S. attorney who spent her brief tenure trying to charge President Donald Trump's enemies with crimes. She's now under investigation by Florida's Bar Association. Good news. That could mean she'll get disbarred. Bad news. This is Florida, so maybe they'll give her a medal or something. On today's show, the House rubber stamps Trump's war with a rock. Iran by voting down a war powers resolution. And the public delays the president's expensive East Wing ballroom plans with a flood of negative comments.

Preservationists rejoice. But let's start with Department of Homeland Security Secretary Christy Knoem. Or should I say, X Department of Homeland Security Secretary Christy Knoem. President Trump fired Noem on Thursday via True Social Post. Well, technically he fired her and gave her a new job. Quote, special envoy for the Shield of the Americas. a role that, according to the New York Times, did not exist before Thursday. Noam is the first of Trump's cabinet of Terribles to lose her job this term.

So what did it? I mean, there are so many options. Was it the photo shoot she did in a super prison in El Salvador last year? Lying about a wrongly deported man so often a district court judge told her to stop? Putting the weight of the Department of Homeland Security behind showy immigration raids designed to get clicks on social media? How about smearing two U.S. citizens shot to death by federal immigration officers in Minneapolis, saying they had ties to domestic terrorism? Nope.

Reportedly, it was probably related to a series of DHS ads starring, Chris, you know, like this one. Anyone who searches for freedom can always find a home here, but that freedom's a precious thing, and we defend it vigorously. You cross the border illegally, we'll find you. Break our laws, we'll punish you. harm American citizens, there will be consequences. But if you come here the right way, your American dream can be as big as these endless skies.

From President Trump and me, welcome home. That ad campaign cost taxpayers more than $200 million. But according to Christy Kno, Donald Trump said it was AOK. Here she is testifying under oath during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing Tuesday, responding to Louisiana Republican Senator John Kennedy. I'm asking you, sorry to interrupt, but the president approved ahead of time you spending $220 million running TV ads across the country in which you are featured prominently. Yes, sir, we went through the legal processes.

Did it correct? Did the president know you're going to do this? Yes. But when Reuters asked Trump about the ads, he said, quote, I never knew anything about it. Or as Senator Kennedy told reporters on Thursday, quote, I want to put it this way. His recollection and her recollection are different.

So, Nome is out, and in her place, Trump wants Oklahoma Republican Senator Mark Wayne Mullen. Most noted recently for being very unclear as to whether or not we're at war with Iran. Oh, yeah, right. We're still at war with Iran. So to talk more about Christy Nome's exit and the war in Iran, I spoke with Virginia Democratic Senator Mark Warner. Senator Warner, welcome to what a day. Yeah, it's been quite a day. It's been quite a week.

It has been indeed. On Thursday, President Trump announced on true social that he is replacing Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Nome with Republican, Oklahoma Senator Mark Wayne Mullen. You've often criticized Nome's leadership. You've called on her to resign. What's your take on this? What the hell took him so long? I've worked some with Mark Wayne Mullen. I don't know him really well. I'll give him a fair look. But boy, oh boy, you talk about Christy Nome being. way beyond her skill level and being such a awful face for a department that it kind of run amok. I'm glad she's gone. I can give him a few more like Pete Hankseth and Tulsi Gabbard and others that maybe would make it a better end of the week if he acted on them as well. In your view, Senator, what do you think did it? Because it wasn't the deaths of two American citizens in Minneapolis. It wasn't any of the number of failures she's had. over the last year. What do you think it was? Well, I think what it was was that the fact that I'd seen some of these ads, these ridiculous spending of $200, I think it was $200 million of federal money

to promote Chrissy Nome. You know, her in all of these crazy outfits and flashing lights. And one thing about Donald Trump, we all know that he didn't like anybody else on the stage. And whether he knew that campaign was out there or not, the notion that, Oh, yes, she had Donald Trump's full approval for her publicity campaign, paid for by federal dollars, obviously was not the case. Trump also said that Mueller will just take over the role, quote, effective March 31st. But cabinet members have to be confirmed by the Senate. What does the president communicated to you or your colleagues about plans to appoint Mullen? You know, I'm not on the Homeland Security Committee, so I don't know if there's been any formal process.

But, you know, you just can't stick somebody in as a cabinet official without a law. getting congressional approval. My fear, though, is that Trump may feel like to heck with Congress entirely, since, as we saw, again, I think it was just yesterday, my Republican colleagues didn't even have the courage to stand up and say, hey, we're going to protect congressional's prerogative to take our nation into war, that it can't just be the president starting a war of choice. And what I fear is that, you know, Trump is so used to get in his way, he's not even paying lip service now to the law and constitution. You and I are joined on that, Senator. You're one of the few lawmakers who received brief advance notice about last weekend strike on Iran, and you've received at least one additional briefing since then. I mean, you've already said it, but from your understanding, are we at war with Iran?

We are at war. We are at war of choice. There was no imminent threat to America from the Iranians. And we have had four different explanations given. by Trump about why he chose to take us to war, where he've already had six soldiers kill. He said, first of all, it was about Iran's nuclear capabilities, which earlier he had claimed we had obliterated last year in a strike. Then he was talking about ballistic missiles, which over time would pose some threat to America and to Israel, but there was no imminent threat in terms of at volume. They then came out with this. I answered the other day of saying, oh my gosh, it's about the Iranian Navy. I'd never heard that one, but that was given in a briefing. And then it was about regime change. And here's my problem. If Trump had chosen to try to take an

action like this in January, when millions of Iranians were on the street protesting against the brutal regime, and I have no love law or no tears will be shed for the Iranian leadership being eliminated. At least it would have made some connection. But the idea that he, frankly, couldn't at that point, because the aircraft carrier he needed was off the coast of Venezuela on another military venture of his and our European allies were properly focused on his threats to take over Greenland. But then now to choose to do this war now, what I worry about, if you're saying, all right, Iranians come to the streets, take back your government, what happens if 100,000 protesters show up on the streets of Tehran and then the Iranian Revolutionary Guard who were brutal,

kill 5,000, 10,000, 20,000? Does America have an obligation then to put troops on the ground? This is what happens when you have a president and a team that doesn't think this through. As you've just said, there have been so many mixed messages from the Trump administration and from the GOP as to what this is all about. We've heard simultaneously that this isn't about regime change, but Trump told Axios Thursday that he has to be, quote, involved in the appointment of Iran's new leader. So in your view, what is this about? I think this is about Donald Trump choosing to go to war and in many ways doing it on Israel's timetable,

and I'm a supporter of Israel. But when you're talking about putting American troops in harm's way, you've got to show that there was imminent threat to America. There was not. And we've known one thing over the last 25 years. It's a hell of a lot easier to get into a war in the Middle East than it is to get out of a war. And I'm not sure what his ongoing plans are. And again, this is a relatively small example, but important, if you're going to choose to go to war on your

own timeline, why in the heck didn't you tell all of the Americans in the region, get out? Why didn't you say to Americans don't fly into the region? The number of Virginians I've had contact me that weren't even going to the Middle East, but they were flying through Doha or through Dubai. And when the bombs started, you know, they got caught in those countries. We could have been prepared for that. And what's embarrassing is other nations have done a better job of getting their citizens out of the region than we have. Now, finally, that's starting to turn around a little bit. More flights are going in. I think most of the Virginians we've been in contact with at least got a plan on how to get out now. But why put them all through that stress when again, this was his war of choice?

War is not just terrifying. It's expensive. A report from the Center for American Progress this week estimated that military action in Iran has already cost more than $5 billion. If you were asked, would you vote to send emergency funding to the military? I'd want to know how much they're asking for, what it's going to be used for. And I sure as heck would want to know. So I come into this with a lot of questions. I don't want to leave our troops in harm's way. But I, you know, governing's about choices. If President Trump is choosing this war against Iran, yet he chose not to help millions of Americans maintain their health care. And he's gotten millions more who are going to be cut when the Medicaid cuts come through. When President

Trump says, I'm going to choose to go to war, anyone in the right mind would know that is going to up gasoline prices. Prices are already up 20 cents a gallon, and they will go higher. When you make a choice like this as well, it sends shockwaves through the stock market. The one thing that he always looks to. What is President Trump doing about affordability? Nothing. And if anything, by making this choice to go to war, he's driving prices up even further for Americans. This week, the House and the Senate voted down war powers resolutions that could have required congressional approval for any further U.S. military action in Iran. What else can Congress do to reign in the president when it comes to Iran? We can take back the House and the Senate in the fall, short of that. And, you know, I have been criticized many times,

probably rightfully for being too bipartisan. But I have lost so much faith in my Republican friends that they're going to do anything in a meaningful way to stand up to this president. One or two, here or there. But when push comes to shove, they all fall in line. I'm not sure there is a Republican Party anymore, but there is simply a party of Trump acolytes. And that's not good for our country. Senator Warner, thank you so much for taking the time to join me. Thank you so much. That was my conversation with Virginia Democratic Senator Mark Warner. We've got more news on the way. But if you like the show, please do us a favor and subscribe. Leave a five-star review on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Check us out on you.

and share your favorite episodes with your friends. It helps us reach more listeners who are focused on the important things, like protecting our democracy from people who want to dismantle it. We'll be back with more news for you after some ads. This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. International Women's Day is coming up. A moment to celebrate women's strengths and progress while also recognizing how much they carry every day.

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A.K.A., on Thursday, the U.S. House of Representatives voted down a war powers resolution to halt President Trump's attacks on Iran, closing any immediate chance for Congress to reign in the war. The Senate voted down a similar resolution Wednesday. House Speaker Mike Johnson touted the resolution's failure to reporters after the vote. We are not at war. We have no intention of being at war. The president and the Department of Defense have made this very clear. The Department of War has made it very clear. This is a limited operation.

It's a operation that's limited in its scope and duration. Okay. Can he tell the Trump administration, which keeps calling this a war? U.S. officials say the U.S. and Israel have hit more than 2,000 targets in Iran. They killed Iran's supreme leader. And the head of the Department of War bragged about sinking an Iranian ship 2,000 miles away from Iran, combined with Iran's retaliatory strikes. If that's not a war, what is? Kentucky Republican Representative Thomas Massey said in a tweet after the resolution failed, quote,

We're being told this military action could last months. That's the exact circumstance in which the founders intended for Congress to authorize war. But sadly, we've now abdicated that responsibility. Again! Abdicated that responsibility. Again. Two dozen states are suing the Trump administration over its latest tariff gambit. Any lawsuit filed Thursday at the U.S. Court of International Trade, the states argue

that President Trump did not have the authority to impose 10% global tariffs that went into effect last month. The suit also targets increases Trump has threatened to add on top of those. Trump announced these particular tariffs literally hours after the Supreme Court struck down a different set he issued last year. The administration based the newer tariffs

on a legally untested section of a 1974 trade law. The states say the tariffs are supposed to apply evenly, but Trump's played favorites by exempting some industries. They also say Congress wrote the law to apply these tariffs during a currency crisis that doesn't exist today. Fingers crossed that the courts deliver a repeat and once again strike down Trump's tariffs. Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson is calling on Texas Republican Representative Tony Gonzalez to end his reelection campaign. Johnson and other GOP house leaders asked Gonzalez to withdraw after he admitted to having an affair with his staffer,

who later died by suicide. In a podcast interview about the affair, Gonzalez said, quote, I had absolutely nothing to do with her tragic passing. But he also used the interview to take digs of the staffer's husband and the couple's personal life, because he's a piece of shit. Earlier this week, Gonzalez was forced into a runoff in the primary for his house seat. On Thursday, CNN reporter Manu Raju asked Mike Johnson why he has avoided calling for Gonzalez's resignation. Leadership put out a statement, it speaks for itself.

We've encouraged him to drop out of the race for re-election. I think that is the, you know, politically, That's a death penalty, okay? But the actual answer probably has a lot to do with the GOP's thin majority in the House. Another day, another profiling courage from Mike Johnson. President Trump's $400 million ballroom vanity project will have to wait a little longer for approval. That's despite the fact that the East Wing site is already demolished. The National Capital Planning Commission was scheduled to vote on a rebuild Thursday,

but instead announced they'll wait until April. The chairman of the commission said he wants to give members, the public more time to voice their opinions, and they certainly have some already. The Commission received roughly 32,000 public comments so far. The New York Times analyzed them and found that a whopping 98% are negative, which checks out, considering that Trump's decision to demolish the East Wing was poorly planned and historically problematic. No surprise that White House Press Secretary Caroline Levitt is unfazed, though.

In a statement, she told the Times, quote, These nasty comments are clearly stemming from an organized campaign of Trump to range liberals who clearly have no style or taste, because that's what we've come to know Trump for. Taste. And that's the news. That's all for today. If you like the show, make sure you subscribe, leave a review, contemplate how Kristyneau may soon face a perjury investigation and tell your friends to listen. And if you're into reading, and not just about how, remember when I said Noam was testifying under oath

when she said that Trump totally approved her little $200 million ad campaign? Well, Connecticut Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal is pushing to investigate her for lying to Congress. Like me, Whataday is also a nightly newsletter. Check it out and subscribe at crooked.com slash subscribe. I'm Jane Koston and look. There are so many ways I'd like to see Christy Knoem face actual repercussions. But being hung out to dry for an ad campaign starring herself would be pretty funny. What Today is a production of Crooked Media.

It's recorded and mixed by Desmond Taylor. Our associate producer is Emily Four. Our producer is Caitlin Plummer. Our video editor is Joseph Dutra. Our video producer is Johanna Case. We had a production help today from Greg Walters, Matt Berg, Sean Ali, and Ethan Oberman. Our senior producer is Erica Morrison

and our senior vice president of News and Politics is Adrian Hill. Our theme music is by Kyle Murdoch and Jordan Cantor. We had helped today from the Associated Press. Our production staff is proudly unionized with the Writers Guild of America East.