Why Trump really turned on Kristi Noem

0:00Good morning. Trump fires Christie Nome in a major cabinet shake-up. He's been under pressure from his top advisers, from immigration hawks, from people at DHS, from months and months to get rid of Nome, and we're only now seeing him cave to that pressure. The Wall Street Journal explains why the president turned on his loyal Homeland Security Secretary. Israel bombards Beirut as the Middle East conflict widens. And as Trump demands a say in Iran's new leader, Reuters bureau chief for the country explains who might be next in line. It's Friday, March 6. I'm Cecilia Lay, and this is Apple News Today. Christie Nome is out. On Thursday, President Trump announced he was firing Nome, marking the first major cabinet level shake-up of his second term. Nome led the department through a set of wide-ranging and controversial tasks like implementing

1:02the president's immigration crackdown and attempting to overhaul the disaster agency amid major weather events. Michelle Hackman covers immigration for the Wall Street Journal and reported on the ongoing issues with Nome and DHS. There has been frustration growing with Christie Nome for months. It all started, I would say, about a year ago, when these ads of Nome started appearing on places like Fox News, they were prominent glossy ads of her. They looked like campaign ads of her saying, you know, encouraging people to self-deport. If you are considering entering America illegally, don't even think about it. Let me be clear. If you come to our country and you break our laws, we will hunt you down. And the problem people had with them was that they were in English and they were not airing places that typically people in the country illegally would be watching TV. The Border Security Act campaign reportedly cost $220 million. And it was a major subject of a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing earlier this week.

2:06It was brought up in this exchange with Republican Senator John Kennedy. And you're saying that you're testifying that President Trump approved this. They had a time, so I understand. We had conversations about making sure that we were telling people, I'm asking you, sorry to interrupt, but the President approved ahead of time, you spending $220 million, running TV ads across the country in which you are featured prominently. Yes, sir. We went through the legal processes. Did it correct? Did the President work with OMB? Yes. He did. Yes. Nome claimed that the ads had been effective. The Kennedy said they were only good at building up Nome's own name recognition. I mean, to me, it puts the President in a terribly awkward spot. And I'm not saying you're not telling the truth. It's just hard for me to believe. You know, I mean, President, as I do that you said, Mr. President, here's some ads I've cut and I'm going to spend $220 million running them that he would have agreed to that.

3:13After the testimony, Trump told Reuters that he didn't know anything about the ad campaign. A watchdog at DHS is reportedly investigating the contract and whether it went through the standard bidding process. But the ads were just one issue. Over the course of Trump's second term, Nome emerged as one of Trump's most prominent senior officials, often attracting negative press attention and criticism from her own party's senators. Over the fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Prety in Minnesota, some Republicans called for her to go. Her management of DHS personnel came under scrutiny too. In particular, the role of her top adviser, Corey Lewandowski, who's also expected to leave DHS. And he's sort of been her enforcer, her chief of staff. He's been a source of fear and frustration across the Department of Homeland Security. The journal and others have reported that the two were in a relationship. And she was asked about it during this week's hearing. She dismissed the question as, quote, tabloid garbage.

4:13But scrutiny of the pair has heightened this past year, especially over department spending. She spent $70 million on it was a luxury 737 max with a private room and back. And when this became public, it was sort of earmarked for high profile deportations, but it was something that actually Nome was using for her and her top adviser, Corey Lewandowski, to just travel around the country. And there were announcements that raised significant security concerns, like the implementation of an airport policy where people without TSA pre-check were permitted to keep their shoes on as they passed through security. And those machines actually don't fully have the ability to scan shoes. And so she inadvertently created this new security gap in the system. That was something that the IG investigated and found. And when Kristi Nome's office heard about it, instead of actually addressing the problem, they basically forbade the findings of the IG from being released. They gave it a higher level of classification and fought us to the nail from publishing

5:15it. Nome is being demoted to a new role that is part of a security initiative. Trump said he wants Republican Oklahoma Senator Mark Wayne Mullin to fill the role as head of DHS. The change would be effective at the end of the month, and Mullin would require Senate confirmation. Six days into so-called Operation Epic Ferry and the conflict in the Middle East keeps escalating and the death toll keeps rising. Late on Thursday and into the early hours of Friday, Israel unleashed a major bombardment in Lebanon, heard above the skies of Beirut. The IDF targeted a Hezbollah stronghold after the Iran proxy group sent rockets into Israel. According to the Lebanese health ministry, over 100 people have been killed since Hezbollah entered the war late Sunday. Meanwhile, Iran continues to take heavy fire.

6:17The Washington Post reports satellite imagery showing extensive damage to Iran's missile production complex and the Israelis say they've knocked out 80 percent of the country's air defenses. Speaking at a press conference yesterday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth dismissed concerns about possible shortages of munitions and said that firepower over Iran was, quote, about to surge dramatically. If you think you've seen something, just wait. The amount of combat power that's still flowing, that's still coming, that will be able to project over Iran is a multiples of what it currently is right now. As Iranians endure more bombings, uncertainty looms over who will run the country next. President Trump wants to have a say on who that might be. Yesterday, he told Axios he has to be involved in the appointment of any successor, like he was with the leadership change in Venezuela. This past week, though, Trump's position on the matter has seemingly evolved. At first, after the initial strikes, he called for revolutionaries to seize their country.

7:19When we are finished, take over your government. It will be yours to take. This will be probably your only chance for generations. Later, he suggested a moderate from inside the government could be acceptable, showing little enthusiasm for the former Shah's son who currently lives in the U.S. It would seem to me that somebody from within might, maybe, would be more appropriate. I've said that. But he also acknowledged that most of the people from within who he thinks could be suitable were now gone. We had some in mind from that group that is dead. And now we have another group that may be dead also. In person, Trump did take a hard line on yesterday, was the man currently seen as the front runner. Ayatollah Hamaneh son, Moshtabah Hamaneh. Trump said it would be unacceptable, but also conceded it was the most likely outcome for now. In the complex political system of the Islamic Republic, major decisions are often made behind the scenes before any formal announcement.

8:22Paris A Hafez is the Iran bureau chief for Reuters. He told us that Moshtabah Hamaneh has worked behind the scenes rather than holding an official position. He's young in late fifties. He has always worked behind the scenes. He's one of the most influential people in the Islamic Republic. But if a large body of clerics, the so-called Assembly of Experts pick Moshtabah Hamaneh, it could be seen as a message of defiance to the U.S. and Israel. And an attempt to show that the hard line revolutionary guard was still in charge. Hafez told us he is widely seen as skeptical of engagement with Western powers and committed to maintaining the ideological foundations of the Islamic Republic. But opting for Moshtabah could cause problems with the Iranian public. Many argue that installing the Supreme Leader's son would resemble dynastic succession, something that runs against the revolutionary ideals that toppled the monarchy in 1979.

9:23Others could see it as an attempt to maintain a status quo role that has brought severe economic pain and bloodshed. Moshtabah's elevation could also feel anger among Iranians who are already deeply frustrated with the political system and increasingly demand fundamental change. Trump acknowledged this week that there was still the distinct possibility that Iran's successor will prove to be just as hard-line and uncompromising as the late Ayatollah. I guess the worst case would be we do this and then somebody takes over who's as bad as the previous person, right? They could happen. We don't want that to happen. It would probably be the worst you go through this and then in five years you realize you put somebody in, it was no better. This weekend marks the start of Formula One, so we called up Apple New Sports Editor, Shocker Simone, to talk about what to expect on the grid in 2026.

10:27The season's kicking off in Australia and the big thing that we need to talk about is the rule changes. Every few years, F1 totally overhalls all of the regulations to tighten the field together, sometimes to change the style of racing. In this case, it was to allow for new teams and new engine manufacturers to come in, to kind of level the playing field in the way. ESPN calls this year's changes the biggest in F1's history, and chief among them are new engines, which will be radically different. The last time we had a major engine change in 2014, Mercedes came in and won eight straight Constructors World Championships. 2014, 15, 16, 16, 17, 18, 19 all the way through 21. Lewis Hamilton won seven world championships in that span, right? They were dominant. Simone says Mercedes looks strong again this year, but the engine changes put things up for grabs, and we don't really know what the pecking order will look like quite yet. We kind of have a rough idea after the preseason testing. Then there are some things that might be

11:28going on in the background, right? Like Ferrari, with a driver line up as strong as anyone in Charlotte Claire and Lewis Hamilton, and a car that, well, definitely does not seem to have the same top end talent as say the Mercedes, as far as the engine goes, has a couple of quirks and a couple tricks up its sleeve that might put these guys in position to win a bunch of races or when a championship. As for what to watch out for, Simone says the mystery of it all is what makes the season so intriguing. I'm excited for a total reset. I'm excited to not know what's going to happen. I have an idea of the teams, I think, that are best. It seems like Mercedes could be the favorite going to this year. It seems like Ferrari could be frisky, McLaren, Red Bull, have their hops in their downs. But the really truly exciting thing is the not knowing. It's the surprise. How often do you get that? To get the latest Formula One updates from every race you can tap sports in the Apple News app. And finally, a few other stories were following. The Justice Department released

12:38FBI documents late yesterday describing several interviews with a woman who made an uncorroborated accusation against President Trump as part of their release of Epstein files. The FBI had already released documents describing the existence of the memos, but they said these pages had previously been withheld. The notes recounted 2019 FBI interviews with the woman who said she had been sexually assaulted by Epstein and Trump. The accusations date back to the 1980s when she was a teenager. While the FBI interviewed her four times, the Justice Department's previous release included a summary of only one of the interviews, which was related to an accusation against Epstein. On Thursday, the department said those files had been incorrectly coded as duplicative, and therefore were inadvertently not published along with other investigative documents related to Epstein. In a statement on Thursday, the White House Press Secretary Caroline Levitt described the claims from the FBI interviews as, quote, completely baseless accusations backed by zero credible

13:42evidence. The Winter Paralympics in Milan, Cortina are underway, where Team USA will be looking to secure metals in games like sled hockey and paranordic skiing. But much like the Winter Games that just wrapped up, a curling scandal has entered the conversation. Two stones that were set to be used in the wheelchair curling event that started Wednesday have been stolen. Olympic officials are investigating the theft, and two backup stones are now in play. During the Olympic Games last month, a cheating scandal hung over the curling competition after multiple athletes were accused of what is known as a double touch violation. And United Airlines is making a rule change that could make your next flight a little more peaceful. United announced it will ban passengers who don't wear headphones while playing audio from their devices. The airline had a similar role in place already, but the newly toughened up language tells passengers they could be removed or denied boarding if they don't comply. So for anyone hoping to treat fellow passengers to their favorite

14:46playlist, you've been warned. You can find all these stories and more in the Apple News app. And if you're already listening in the news app right now, stick around for the latest episode of Apple News in Conversation. This week, guest host Sam Sanders spoke to New Yorker staff writer Susan Glasser about the conflict in Iran and the limits of presidential powers. So they let a war go on for two full days without the leadership of the Pentagon speaking to the American people. Again, I've watched decades of national security leaders in both parties in Washington. This is not how it was supposed to work in America. If you're listening in the podcast app, you can follow Apple News in Conversation to find that episode or come back to the Apple News today feed tomorrow. All new episodes of In Conversation will be available there on Saturdays, too. Enjoy the weekend and I'll be back with the news on Monday.