{"id":2578909,"date":"2026-03-12T06:31:02","date_gmt":"2026-03-12T10:31:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/at-least-15-senior-cbp-employees-were-pushed-out-under-noem-sources\/"},"modified":"2026-03-12T06:33:18","modified_gmt":"2026-03-12T10:33:18","slug":"at-least-15-senior-cbp-employees-were-pushed-out-under-noem-sources","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/at-least-15-senior-cbp-employees-were-pushed-out-under-noem-sources\/","title":{"rendered":"At least 15 senior CBP employees were pushed out under Noem: Sources"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">24<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fat-least-15-senior-cbp-employees-were-pushed-out-under-noem-sources%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2578909&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>An exclusive Washington Examiner report says more than 15 senior Customs and Border Protection (CBP) employees were ousted from leadership roles at the department of Homeland Security (DHS) during Kristi Noem\u2019s tenure as secretary, according to three federal sources.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; The removals occurred between October and February and included several longtime CBP officials who were forced to resign, retire, relocate, or be terminated. Notable names mentioned include Andrea Bright, John Modlin, Ntina Cooper, James Kernochan, Joseph Mazzara, and others.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; The actions appear to have been driven by a campaign led by Noem and special adviser Corey Lewandowski to purge allies of CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott,who reportedly clashed with Noem and Lewandowski over immigration enforcement and internal leadership decisions.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; The purge raised internal tensions, morale problems, and operational concerns at CBP that could affect its leadership and priorities, especially as Markwayne mullin is set to become DHS secretary.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; The piece notes that Mullin could potentially rehire some or all of the purged employees when he takes office, tho they would likely need to compete for positions and meet suitability requirements; ther is no blanket ban on rehiring.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; DHS and CBP did not comment on the specific number of removals when approached for comment.<\/p>\n<p>the report frames the firings as a important reshaping of CBP leadership with implications for policy and morale, ahead of Mullin\u2019s confirmation and a potential reshaping of the agency\u2019s leadership.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">At least 15 senior CBP employees were pushed out under Noem: Sources<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_2525122\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p><strong>EXCLUSIVE &mdash;<\/strong>&nbsp;More than 15 federal employees were forced out of senior posts at the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/dhs\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"1689\">Department of Homeland Security<\/a> agency U.S.<a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/customs-and-border-protection\"> Customs and Border Protection<\/a> during <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/kristi-noem\">Kristi Noem&rsquo;s<\/a> time as secretary, according to three federal sources with direct knowledge.<\/p>\n<p>Well over a dozen employees at CBP&rsquo;s Washington headquarters were forced to resign, retire, relocate, or were terminated at the direction of Noem and special government employee <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/corey-lewandowski\">Corey Lewandowski<\/a> between last October and February this year. The number of CBP officials ousted by DHS leadership under Noem has not been previously reported.<\/p>\n<div class=\"recommended-stories\">\n<h2>Recommended Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/4488754\/democrats-accuse-bondi-brother-obain-favorable-legal-case\/\">Democrats accuse Bondi of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/democrats-accuse-bondi-of-feeding-brother-favorable-legal-results\/\" title=\"Democrats accuse Bondi of feeding brother favorable legal results\">helping lawyer brother obtain favorable outcomes<\/a> in legal cases<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/investigations\/4486734\/foreign-backed-group-bridge-gop-russia-friendly-europeans\/\">Foreign-backed group serves as bridge between GOP and Russia-friendly Europeans<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/investigations\/4488261\/sherrod-brown-hits-jon-husted-allegedly-not-driving-despite-chauffeur-habit\/\">Sherrod Brown, with taste for luxury chauffeurs, hits Jon Husted for allegedly not driving his own car<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>The firings are significant because the incoming DHS secretary, Sen. <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/markwayne-mullin\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"21441\">Markwayne Mullin <\/a>(R-OK), will have to confront the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/immigration\/3868386\/why-ice-and-border-patrol-are-fighting-over-who-should-arrest-illegal-immigrants\/\">internal tensions<\/a>, morale problems, and operational issues that Noem and Lewandowski left behind at the department, if he is confirmed by the Senate to the post.<\/p>\n<p>In several instances, those pushed out were award-winning government employees, each with decades of experience in the department, according to three officials who spoke with the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>The <em>Washington Examiner<\/em> first <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/investigations\/4423912\/noem-lewandowski-campaign-oust-trump-border-leader-sources\/\">reported<\/a> in January that Noem and Lewandowski were waging a pressure campaign to get CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott to resign and that they had forced out five employees at that point.<\/p>\n<p>The more recent employee actions suggest that Noem and Lewandowski were determined to purge those seen as allies to Scott, even in the days leading up to Noem&rsquo;s own termination by President <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/donald-trump\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"4\">Donald Trump<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The DHS and CBP did not respond to requests for comment verifying the number of CBP employees that DHS leadership removed.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Top left: Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem; Bottom left: Special government employee Corey Lewandowski; Right: President Donald Trump speaks with U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Rodney Scott (Associated Press)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-senior-cbp-officials-pink-slipped\">Senior CBP officials pink-slipped<\/h2>\n<p>Scott had called into question Lewandowski&rsquo;s frequent involvement in <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/immigration\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"8775\">immigration matters<\/a> since early 2025, given that he was legally limited to working 130 days at the department. Scott had a reputation among senior CBP and DHS officials for pushing back against Noem and Lewandowski&rsquo;s ideas for conducting immigration enforcement and for involving CBP employees, who are normally stationed on the border, not in the interior of the country, in those deportation efforts.<\/p>\n<p>Eight sources <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/investigations\/4423912\/noem-lewandowski-campaign-oust-trump-border-leader-sources\/\">disclosed<\/a> in January that Noem and Lewandowski hoped that by pushing out senior members of Scott&rsquo;s office, he would resign. Noem lacked the authority to fire a Senate-confirmed official, which Scott is.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignleft size-large\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Andrea Bright (U.S. Customs and Border Protection)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>The first termination occurred last October when Scott received an order from DHS leadership to fire Andrea Bright, assistant commissioner of CBP&rsquo;s Office of Human Resources Management for Enterprise Services. Bright was in charge of hiring <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/federalnewsnetwork.com\/workforce\/2025\/09\/cbp-embarks-on-ambitious-hiring-push-with-data-driven-approach\/\">8,500<\/a> new CBP employees wth money from the One Big, Beautiful Bill.<\/p>\n<p>Noem and Lewandowski were said to be irritated by the time it was taking the human resources office to move<a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/border-patrol\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"2090\"> Border Patrol agents<\/a> in field leadership jobs into senior positions at U.S. <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/ICE\/\">Immigration and Customs Enforcement<\/a>, a separate agency within the DHS.<\/p>\n<p>The&nbsp;<em>Washington Examiner<\/em>&nbsp;<a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/3864929\/trump-administration-quietly-purges-ice-leaders-in-five-cities-sources\/\">reported<\/a>&nbsp;last October that DHS had plotted to bring border agents into ICE to overhaul operations and ramp up arrests inside the United States in regions where ICE officials were not meeting White House expectations.<\/p>\n<p>In December and January, other officials were pushed out, including CBP&rsquo;s chief operating officer, John Modlin, a lifetime Border Patrol agent. Modlin was awarded the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.opm.gov\/policy-data-oversight\/senior-executive-service\/presidential-rank-awards\/2024\/2024-presidential-rank-awards-winners\/\">Presidential Rank Award<\/a> in 2024 for exceptional service before being called to Washington to be second-in-command of the 67,000-employee agency.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignleft size-large\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">John Modlin (U.S. Customs and Border Protection)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think for one minute Donald Trump knows that a 30-year veteran of the Border Patrol [Modlin], who grinded out the whole entirety of the Biden administration, most of it in Washington, is getting treated like he just walked in off a f****** bus,&rdquo; a second source said in January.<\/p>\n<p>Modlin was given seven days to decide whether to resign, retire, or relocate his family to Boston for an unrelated job within the department. He chose to retire.<\/p>\n<p>Scott&rsquo;s chief of staff, James Kernochan, was abruptly moved in December 2025 to be deputy director at a different agency, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.<\/p>\n<p>Several of the most senior employees within Scott&rsquo;s office were replaced by people selected by Noem and Lewandowski, including deputy commissioner Joseph Mazzara, who worked directly under Noem as acting general counsel for the DHS in 2025.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignleft size-large is-resized\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Ntina Cooper (U.S. Customs and Border Protection)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Ntina Cooper was CBP&rsquo;s <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >top border wall official<\/a> who personally briefed President Donald Trump about construction plans throughout his first term. Cooper was the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/cbp-prevents-chinese-fishing-company-from-importing-goods-into-u-s-due-to-widespread-human-rights-abuses\/\" title=\"... prevents Chinese fishing company from importing goods into U.S. due to widespread human rights abuses\">executive assistant commissioner<\/a> of enterprise services and oversaw the procurement of $5 billion in projects for the agency.<\/p>\n<p>Additional employees at CBP&rsquo;s Washington headquarters were pushed out in January and February.<\/p>\n<p>Seven sources said in January that they anticipated that if&nbsp;Scott resigned or Trump was convinced by Noem and Lewandowski to fire him, DHS&nbsp;had planned to move Michael Banks, the national chief of the Border Patrol, to take over as CBP commissioner. Banks is viewed as a loyalist to Noem and is an appointed position by the secretary, rather than a nominee.<\/p>\n<p>Banks has strong ties to Gov.<a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/greg-abbott\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"1373\"> Greg Abbott <\/a>(R-TX), who previously told the&nbsp;<em>Washington Examiner<\/em>&nbsp;in an interview that his work on the border with Banks was a leading reason Trump won in 2024, suggesting close ties between Texas and the Trump administration.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-a-second-chance\">A second chance<\/h2>\n<p>Over 15 purged CBP employees could be rehired if Mullin wishes to bring some or all of them back when he takes office later this month, according to Washington-based federal employment attorney Michael C. Fallings.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The incoming secretary can rehire these employees,&rdquo; Fallings, managing partner at Tully Rinckey PLLC and chair of the Federal Labor and Employment Practice Group, wrote in an email.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/immigration\/4478925\/deputy-director-ice-bought-thousands-marked-vehicles-cannot-use\/\">NOEM&rsquo;S DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF ICE BOUGHT THOUSANDS OF VEHICLES THAT OFFICERS CANNOT USE<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Those employees may need to still go through the competitive process to be rehired, as the Secretary could still require them to compete against other employees for the position and still require them to pass any suitability requirements,&rdquo; said Fallings. &ldquo;However, there is not a ban for them to be rehired.&rdquo; <\/p>\n<p>The DHS and CBP did not comment when asked about plans to pursue rehiring any of those former employees once Noem leaves office later this month.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Noem ousted 15+ senior CBP officials: sources<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2655,"featured_media":2578910,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/image-collage-0yrxn8usg-1773247967648-e1773271610569.jpg?1773258039&amp;w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[11139,50410,75609,8794,56800],"class_list":["post-2578909","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-cbp","tag-controversy-2","tag-dismissals","tag-noem","tag-staffing-2"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/image-collage-0yrxn8usg-1773247967648-e1773271610569.jpg?1773258039&amp;w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2578909","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2655"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2578909"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2578909\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2578913,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2578909\/revisions\/2578913"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2578910"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2578909"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2578909"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2578909"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}