One of the Trump administration’s most visible defenders of its aggressive immigration enforcement agenda is preparing to leave the Department of Homeland Security, according to two DHS officials familiar with the decision.
Tricia McLaughlin, spokesperson for Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, is expected to notify colleagues Tuesday that she plans to step down.
She will depart the department next week, the officials said, according to Politico.
McLaughlin did not immediately respond to Politico’s request for comment.
Key Defender of Enforcement Policies
During some of the administration’s most contentious immigration operations, including enforcement actions in Chicago and Minneapolis, McLaughlin became a prominent and combative public surrogate, frequently pushing back on critics across cable news and social media.
Her exit comes at a sensitive moment for DHS as the department navigates a funding lapse while Republicans and Democrats negotiate potential policy changes affecting Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection.
DHS has not announced who will assume her communications responsibilities.
McLaughlin, previously a communications aide to Vivek Ramaswamy’s 2024 presidential campaign and Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, had reportedly planned to leave in December.
However, she delayed her departure following the Renee Good and Alex Pretti shootings, according to individuals briefed on her exit.
Internal Strains and Political Pressure
Behind the scenes, tensions have surfaced within the administration.
Some officials have privately questioned Secretary Noem’s leadership as DHS faced negative headlines, including criticism that the department moved too quickly in publicly characterizing the two fatal shootings.
President Donald Trump later tapped border czar Tom Homan to oversee operations in Minneapolis.
Homan’s appointment is reportedly viewed by some White House aides as a counterbalance to Noem’s authority.
Despite the friction, McLaughlin was widely regarded inside the administration as one of the strategy’s most effective communicators.
At the peak of her tenure, the former ABC News contributor sometimes conducted as many as five television appearances in a single day, appearing across outlets including Fox News, CNN, CBS News, NPR, Newsmax, and multiple podcasts.
McLaughlin told the Cincinnati Enquirer last month:
“Media is so much of the battle, so to speak, on the immigration issue.
“So much of the debate is a [public relations] debate. It’s a PR war.”
Unclear Next Move
Colleagues say the pace and intensity of that messaging battle have taken a personal toll, though McLaughlin’s next step remains uncertain.
When asked whether she might run for office upon returning to Cincinnati, McLaughlin, who is married to GOP consultant Ben Yoho, said she “wouldn’t rule anything out.”
Beyond immigration, McLaughlin also managed communications on a wide range of DHS issues, including TSA disruptions during last year’s government shutdown, Coast Guard drug interdictions in the Caribbean, and FEMA storm responses.
Her DHS tenure followed earlier service in the first Trump administration, where she worked under Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.
She later served at the State Department on arms-control matters.
Her departure removes a central public voice for the administration’s immigration agenda at a moment when the policy fight and the political stakes surrounding it remain intense.
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