Kristi Noem Publicly Humiliates Herself At Senate Hearing & Inspires An Epic Pile-On

As the United States Secretary of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem is expected to know the correct terminology related to border control and immigration. However, during a Senate committee hearing on May 20, 2025, Noem demonstrated her ignorance. When Democratic Senator Maggie Hassan asked Noem to state the definition of habeas corpus — a legal requirement for a government to justify a person's imprisonment and allowing them the opportunity to argue their case — Noem gave a troubling answer. Hassan's question was prompted by the news that the Trump administration has been considering revoking this fundamental legal right.

Not only did Noem get the definition of the Latin term for "you have the body" incorrect, as pointed out by Senator Hassan during the hearing, but she also verified the Trump administration's approach to immigrants in the United States. By answering that habeas corpus was the president's "constitutional right" to deport people from the U.S., Noem demonstrated just how far Trump's government will go to enforce mass deportation without trials. While Noem believes immigrants don't have a right to defend themselves, Hassan also pointed out that this legal right protects U.S. citizens too, not just immigrants. 

The backlash in response to Kristi Noem's definition of habeas corpus sent the internet into a frenzy. While many people expressed genuine concern that the Secretary of Homeland Security is unfamiliar with an immigrant's legal rights in the U.S., others took aim at Noem's penchant for self-adulation and a materialistic lifestyle, with an X post referring to her as one of "MAGAs elected clowns."

Following the Senate committee hearing on May 20, 2025, people took to social media to comment on Kristi Noem fumbling the bag on the meaning of habeas corpus. The general theme of backlash made reference to Noem's reputation as an opportunist and an influencer as opposed to a serious politician. For example, from 2019 to 2025, as the governor of South Dakota, Noem used taxpayers' money for personal travel — just one of the many controversial things Kristi Noem has done. "Noem thinks habeas corpus is where they have spring break in Texas," one person quipped on X.

Several tweets also referred to Noem's inappropriate glamour shots at immigration detention facilities that she posted alongside exploitative photos of barefoot and handcuffed immigrants. Even Republican supporters like Megyn Kelly unloaded on Kristi Noem with a cutthroat take on her "ICE Barbie" photo ops. "As long as they look pretty for their photoshoots," one X user commented on Noem's ignorance of habeas corpus. "That's why she plays dressup bc she can't do anything else," tweeted another — a comment that follows close on the heels of Noem posing with ICE officers a month before in Phoenix, Arizona, holding a rifle and wearing a bulletproof vest. The United States Secretary of Homeland Security has been criticized for using government duties as an opportunity to cosplay. Kristi Noem's confusing costumes have ranged from tactical gear paired with full glam to dressing up as an electrician and an accountant for political commercials.