WASHINGTON (CN) - North Carolina Senator Thom Tillis on Thursday reaffirmed his commitment to block Trump administration nominees days after he excoriated Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem over her management of the White House's immigration enforcement agenda.
And the Republican lawmaker told colleagues he would keep his hold in place until DHS turned over information about people detained as part of immigration operations in his state - or until Noem is removed from her post.
Tillis, the Tar Heel State's senior senator, was one of the homeland security secretary's sharpest critics as she testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday. Calling her tenure as head of the government's immigration authorities a "disaster," he slammed Noem for reports that DHS agents have repeatedly detained American citizens as they undertake what President Donald Trump has referred to as the largest mass deportation operation in U.S. history.
"Time after time after time, I've been disappointed," Tillis told Noem.
Speaking during a business meeting in the Senate Judiciary Committee Thursday morning, the North Carolina senator admitted he'd been "a little bit hot around the collar" during the homeland security secretary's testimony. But he told colleagues he was angry because DHS had, just an hour before Noem's appearance, denied his request for information about people detained as part of Operation Charlotte's Web, a November immigration enforcement initiative in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Tillis said he'd written a letter to Noem a month prior asking for an "anonymized list" of roughly 500 detainments that took place during the DHS operation.
"All I wanted was a list of the 500 incidents they referred to," he said. "What happened? Were they detained? Were they interrogated? Were they deported? Did they have a criminal background before they crossed the border?"
The North Carolina senator said the agency's refusal to turn that information over amounted to yet another "bad management decision" by Noem.
"I get a 'dear sir, madam or small child, I'm not going to give you that information' an hour before a hearing where she knows I'm going to ask questions about it," Tillis fumed.
The lawmaker told members of the Judiciary Committee he would object to any en bloc nominations on the Senate floor until he got the information he requested from DHS - doubling down on a threat he made to Noem herself on Tuesday. He added he was reticent to make such a move, pointing to what he's long framed as his bipartisan approach to committee work.
"I will deny quorum and markups for any committees I'm on until I get the information I've requested - or until she resigns or gets fired, whichever comes first," Tillis warned.
The Homeland Security Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment about whether it had denied Tillis' information request, or if the agency would consider giving the senator the list of detainments he'd asked for last month.
Senate Democrats, meanwhile, offered their own debrief on Noem's appearance before the Senate Judiciary Committee this week. Illinois Senator Dick Durbin, the top Democrat on the panel, accused the homeland security secretary of lying under oath during her testimony.
"The secretary's testimony was not just evasive or troubling," said Durbin. "She repeatedly made false statements under oath. This should concern every member of the committee, Republican and Democrat alike, and this committee has an obligation to hold the secretary accountable."
The top Senate Democrat claimed Noem had misled the committee about DHS' adherence to court orders, pointing to reports from federal judges in Minnesota and New Jersey who have said in recent weeks the agency defied their injunctions. And he said the secretary had also "lied" about the role of Corey Lewandowski, a former Trump adviser and senior aide at DHS.
Questioned by senators this week, Noem denied that Lewandowski - a "special government employee" - had any hand in approving agency contracts. But reports emerged following her testimony that internal records show Lewandowski had signed off on a multimillion-dollar contract just last year.
Durbin on Thursday said he would discuss "recourse" for Noem's testimony with committee chairman Senator Chuck Grassley. A spokesperson for the Iowa senator's office did not immediately return a request for comment.
Uncertainty has grown this week surrounding Noem's leadership of DHS. Reports on Thursday suggest Trump was furious after the secretary suggested to Louisiana Senator John Kennedy on Tuesday that he'd approved a roughly $220 million ad campaign for the Homeland Security Department which the lawmaker said featured Noem "prominently."
The president is reportedly considering Oklahoma Senator Markwayne Mullin as a replacement, though the lawmaker told reporters Thursday morning he hasn't spoken with the White House.
Amid questions about DHS leadership, the agency is also in its second week of an extended budget shutdown as members of Congress squabble with the Trump administration over reforms to federal immigration enforcement.
Democrats have demanded Republicans and the president agree to legislation that would require federal agents to wear body cameras and remove masks, and a measure that would block them from forcibly entering homes without a judicial warrant, among other things.
Source: Courthouse News Service
