Kristi Noem thanks Trump for ‘keeping the hurricanes away’ in bizarre remarks
Washington, DC: During the last cabinet meeting of the year on Tuesday, December 2, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem expressed her gratitude to President Donald Trump in public for what she considered a very peaceful Atlantic hurricane season in which the US didn’t have any landfalling storms.
"Sir, you made it through hurricane season without a hurricane... even you kept the hurricanes away. We appreciate that."
No Hurricane landfalls in the USA, but Caribbean got hit
It was the first time in eight years that the US was not hit by a landfall hurricane, which is, according to scientists, an unusual event that they mostly explain by natural variability, seasonal patterns, and luck.
In fact, the season was pretty active in other parts of the world; to name a few, the area of the Caribbean was hit by one of the most powerful storms last month, Hurricane Melissa, which caused more than 100 deaths and heavy damage.
The difference emphasized that the US was fortunate to avoid the direct hits of hurricanes, but the rest of the region suffered heavily, thus questioning whether it is appropriate to give the credit to any one person or policy of 'keeping the hurricanes away.'
Kristi Noem gives strong comments on immigration
After the shooting of two National Guardsmen in Washington that took the life of a National Guard member, Kristi Noem's assertion that the perpetrator was a ‘radicalized’ person from within the US has led to a close examination of immigration vetting and calls for more stringent asylum and refugee measures.
.@Sec_Noem on the National Guards attacker: "We believe he was radicalized since he has been here in this country. We do believe that it was through connections in his home community and state... Unvetted by Joe Biden, allowed to run free." pic.twitter.com/6X2YtMMmTl
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) November 30, 2025
Noem recommended a travel ban on several countries, which she claims are 'flooding' the US with criminal activity.
Writing on social media on Monday, Noem said she had met President Donald Trump and decided to suggest "a full travel ban on every damn country that's been flooding our nation with killers, leeches, and entitlement junkies."
Trump and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) then shared Noem's post on their respective official social media accounts.
It is not yet clear which countries the proposed travel ban would impact or when it could begin.
Noem's comments come days after two National Guard members were shot in Washington, DC, last Wednesday. Prior to her comments about a travel ban, Noem wrote on social media that 100,000 Afghan nationals entered the US under the Biden-era Operation Allies Welcome program, and she said the DHS would overhaul the vetting process.
Officials identified the suspect in the DC shooting as an Afghan national who entered the US in 2021 as part of that programme, which was designed for locals who had worked with American troops during the 20-year US deployment to Afghanistan.
