Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin to leave agency
DHS Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin speaks during a news conference at ICE Headquarters in Washington
By Priscilla Alvarez, Michael Williams, CNN
(CNN) — The Department of Homeland Security’s top spokesperson, Tricia McLaughlin, is stepping down, a Trump administration official told CNN.
McLaughlin is expected to leave her position as assistant secretary next week.
Her departure comes on the heels of high-profile shootings in Minnesota, where conflicting accounts called into question the department’s credibility. McLaughlin was one of the agency’s most vocal — and, apart from Secretary Kristi Noem, most visible — defenders, making appearances across news networks to defend President Donald Trump’s mass deportation agenda and taking to social media to blast reporting on the agency.
CNN has reached out to the Department of Homeland Security for comment.
McLaughlin started to plan her departure in December but stayed in the aftermath of the fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis, according to a source familiar. Her plans to leave the administration were first reported by Politico.
Even before the killings of Pretti and Good last month, DHS’ public affairs office faced questions about its credibility after several incidents in which McLaughlin and the agency made claims that were later undermined by video or statements from local officials.
The agency’s credibility issues, combined with its officers’ use of aggressive tactics to carry out Trump’s deportation mandate, have led to a drop in public opinion on DHS and its components. A recent Ipsos poll showed that 62% of Americans think Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s efforts have gone “too far.”
The agency’s conduct is a central sticking point in the partial government shutdown that began last week after Congress hit an impasse to negotiate reforms in DHS’ immigration operations.
During the first Trump administration, McLaughlin worked as the chief of staff for nuclear arms control at the State Department and in the public affairs office at the Treasury Department.
She went on to work as a spokesperson for Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, and later, for Vivek Ramaswamy’s 2024 presidential campaign.
McLaughlin came under scrutiny last year after ProPublica reported that a firm run by her husband was subcontracted to produce an advertising campaign for DHS in a $200 million deal.
McLaughlin told ProPublica at the time that DHS had no visibility into which subcontractors were selected and that she recused herself because of the conflict of interest.
She is the latest top DHS official to leave about a year into the new administration. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Deputy Director Madison Sheahan announced last month she would also step down from her position to run for Congress in her native Ohio.
This story has been updated with additional information.
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