GOP Leaders NUKE CONGRESS on LIVE TV… Dems STRIKE BACK

Fox News host John Roberts described Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem as "rattled" moments after President Donald Trump fired her.

Roberts' network broadcast remarks by Noem as news broke that she would be replaced by Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK).

"That was weird with Kristi Noem, or what?" Roberts observed. "I mean, I assume that she knew. And if she did, that was really demonstrating the art of compartmentalization because she was there before the Sergeants Benevolent Association of New York in Nashville at a conference, giving a speech at the major city's conference."

"And to me, she seemed a little rattled," he continued, "because she usually doesn't make any mistakes when she delivers a speech. And she was making a few there."

As Noem was speaking, Fox News cut to live video of Mullin on the phone as he entered an elevator at the U.S. Capitol.

"I'll be back," Mullin insisted.

"So here's what I'm wondering," Roberts remarked. "Was he really on the phone, or was he pretending to be on the phone? Because, I mean, I've done that a couple of times that there's somebody that I don't want to talk to who sort of comes up to you on the street. You grab your phone, and you pretend you're on a call."

Mullin never returned to the cameras.

President Donald Trump was reportedly so hell-bent on trying to stop lawmakers from revealing the relationship he had with Jeffrey Epstein that he tried to poach a Republican enemy's staff.

Trump apparently wanted to stop Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) and his team. Massie was pushing legislation to prompt the Department of Justice to release the Epstein files and the trove of documents connected to the late financier and convicted child sex offender, according to The Daily Beast.

The president reportedly aimed to disrupt Massie, who had co-sponsored the legislation with Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA).

"As the House moved toward a vote on releasing the Epstein files last summer and fall, the White House and top Trump allies launched an effort to forestall it that lawmakers told me was unprecedented in its intensity and scope," according to The Atlantic.

"Massie called it a '360-pressure campaign,' one felt not just by him and his staff but anyone associated with him," The Atlantic reported. "One tactic he had not experienced before: Some of his key staff members were suddenly offered more prestigious jobs in the Trump administration or more lucrative jobs in the private sector—the idea being that if Massie no longer had a full staff, he couldn’t pursue ambitious legislation."

Massie revealed several situations that caused him to pause.

"Massie recalled asking an employee who, a few weeks before the vote, had received an employment offer that would double his salary: 'Did it ever occur to you that they might be offering you this job to basically make me less effective?' He said the young man sheepishly replied: 'That’s what my mom said.' He turned down the offer and finished writing the bill," according to The Atlantic.

The Republican lawmaker has also signaled that he has felt unsafe during the process to release the files.

"I’ve p---ed off enough billionaires who are clearly amoral people that I might have shortened my expected lifespan,” he told The Atlantic.

News that President Donald Trump had fired Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem from her job and demoted her to "Special Envoy for The Shield of the Americas" caused a wave of reactions online Thursday.

Following two tough days of grilling by congressional leaders who pressed Noem about her leadership and spending, including multiple luxury planes, a blanket incident, and a $220 million ad campaign that Trump confirmed with GOP lawmakers he did not authorize — the president announced Thursday that he was replacing her with former MMA fighter and MAGA Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK).

Noem has also faced increased questions over her long-rumored romantic relationship with Corey Lewandowski and his role at the agency. She was confronted directly about it Wednesday under oath, with her husband sitting behind her during the hearing.

The internet had strong responses to the updates.

"Kristi Noem is gone. Pam Bondi is next. Keep the pressure on these extremists," House minority leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) wrote on X.

"Kristi Noem has been fired and replaced by the dumbest US Senator," Ron Filipkowski, MeidasTouch editor in chief, wrote on X.

"Don’t let the door hit you on the way out, Kristi Noem," Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker wrote on X.

"Breaking: Kristi Noem is out. Minnesotans stood up for Alex and Renee and so many others. And if anyone ever asked why we have committee hearings and demand answers…" Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) wrote on X.

"Kristi Noem will go down as one of the most disgraceful cabinet members of all time," environmental attorney Mike Levin wrote on X.

"Kristi Noem has Sad Mar-A-Lago Face," author Tom Bradley Jr. wrote on Bluesky.

"Kristi Noem isn't being fired because she was a danger to US citizens and disruptive to communities. She's getting fired because Trump thought she made him look bad. And then he's going to put someone even stupider and worse in. Hence the rumors about Markwayne Mullin taking her place," TJ Denzer, Shacknews senior news editor, wrote on Bluesky.