Kristi Noem no longer serves as Trump’s special envoy for Shield of Americas after DHS exit

WASHINGTON, DC: Former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has left her position as the Trump administration’s special envoy for the Shield of the Americas program after her six-month mandate ended last month, according to State Department sources.

The ex-homeland security secretary will remain in the administration in her capacity as a senior adviser to Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau on the initiative.

Kristi Noem continues work on Trump’s Western Hemisphere initiative

"Kristi Noem's envoy status expired last month, and she is no longer in the role," an economic, told CBS News Thursday.

"She is now a senior advisor to Deputy Secretary Landau and continues to work on the Shield of the Americas portfolio."

In a statement on X, Noem said her role as special envoy "was always a six-month appointment."

Noem's envoy designation expired just before the United Nations General Assembly last month in New York, where she continued participating in diplomatic meetings connected to the initiative.

The Shield of the Americas is a US coalition created earlier this year by the Trump administration, seeking to boost security, economic and anti-cartel cooperation between the United States and a number of Latin American and Caribbean countries.

Noem was sworn in as special envoy in March, following her removal as secretary of Homeland Security, where she faced mounting criticism over her leadership and the role of her top aide Corey Lewandowski.

She took up the new post as she was touring five Latin American countries and the Caribbean that month, and Lewandowski was photographed during the trip, though State Department officials subsequently said he did not have a formal post there.

On Sept. 22, she met with Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa, whose government publicly identified her as the special envoy for the Shield of the Americas. She also attended a gathering of Shield of the Americas leaders hosted by President Trump, where he publicly acknowledged her work.

Trump praises Kristi Noem despite change in official role

"I want to thank Kristi Noem for doing a really terrific job," Trump said during his remarks.

She also met with a group of Shield of the Americas leaders at a meeting hosted by President Donald Trump, where she received effusive praise from the president for her work on the initiative.

The acknowledgement came months after the secretary’s tenure in the Department of Homeland Security came to an end, after it became subject to growing criticism. Her new position entails a transition from overseeing domestic security to working on regional cooperation in the Western Hemisphere.

The latest statement from the State Department confirmed that Noem is no longer the special envoy, but continues to be engaged in the interagency initiative in her capacity as senior adviser to Landau.

Therefore, the move appears to signify the conclusion of her six-month special envoy stint rather than any change in her responsibilities pertaining to the Shield of the Americas portfolio. The State Department did not specify any modifications to her duties in the statement released to the public.