Failed former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has scored herself an eyebrow-raising second job.
Noem, 54, was fired from her key role by President Donald Trump in March, following mounting criticism of her leadership as part of his immigration crackdown, and the brutal ICE raids that saw citizens Renee Good and Alex Pretti fatally shot.
She was moved into a new role with the cryptic title of Special Envoy for the Shield of the Americas. Noem claimed the mysterious job would see her work with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth to “dismantle cartels that have poured drugs into our country killing our children and grandchildren.”
However despite her new role, Noem has managed to find the time to take on a side hustle. She has now joined the advisory board of Canadian mineral exploration firm NovaRed Mining.
In her second job, Noem will provide a strategic advisory role for the company, who are focussed on acquiring and developing copper-gold projects in British Columbia, according to a press release.
The company, who are using AI-enhanced technology as part of their mineral exploration, praised Noem’s history in economic development and experience in government.
“NovaRed is pursuing opportunities in sectors that will remain important to long-term growth and supply-chain resilience, and I am excited to contribute my experience in public policy, stakeholder engagement, and strategic planning as the Company advances its initiatives,” Noem said in a statement.
The mining company said bringing Noem onto their advisory team reflects their plan to recruit people with “expertise across government, industry, capital markets, infrastructure, and resource development.”
NovaRed currently has at least one patent pending before the U.S. government. In May, they filed a non-provisional patent application in connection to the company’s AI-assisted technology strategy focused on mineral evaluation, geological intelligence, and transaction management.
Noem was Governor of South Dakota for six years before joining the Trump Administration in 2025.
The Daily Beast has contacted Noem’s office, the White House and NovaRed for comment.
Noem’s office said her new role at NovaRed is “entirely separate from her responsibilities as Special Envoy, and no overlap exists between her private-sector advisory activities, her appointments and her public-facing duties,” in a statement to Politico.
“Sec. Noem’s role focuses on providing strategic guidance regarding supply chain resilience, critical minerals security, and domestic industrial capacity; issues which have been central to her public service career.”
Richard Painter, a former chief ethics officer for former President George W. Bush, said Noem working as an adviser for a mining company does not necessarily pose a conflict of interest with her other job as special enjoy.
However, he told Politico that if she uses her role to apply pressure to the U.S. government, including the patent office, to assist NovaRed, that could cross an ethical line.
Noem’s new second job was announced on Tuesday, as she attempted to put a positive spin on being fired by President Trump, during an interview with Fox News’ Maria Bartiromo.
She told the Fox host she had been personally involved in her own exit, and not axed or blindsided.
“I know it seemed that way to the American public, but the president and I had been talking about it for about a week or two before that,” she said on Mornings with Maria.
The controversial figure, who earned the nickname "ICE Barbie" for her penchant for dressing as an immigration agent, then claimed she and Trump “knew there might be a transition, and we had conversations about it.”
She added that she had also had a conversation with Rubio about her imminent firing.
“I appreciate both of them wanting to keep me a part of the team, the valuable asset [sic] and knowledge that I have, that I bring to the table, and my chance to be involved with this administration, to do good work, is really important to the Western Hemisphere,” she told Bartiromo.
Noem’s role at the DHS was riddled with scandal, including claims of an extramarital affair with her adviser, Corey Lewandowski, while her husband Bryon Noem, was reportedly linked to a fetish subculture known as “bimbofication.”
The final straw came after a Senate Judiciary hearing in early March, where Noem was grilled on taxpayers paying over $200 million for a DHS ad campaign where Noem rode a horse through the South Dakota wilderness.
Her Trump-appointed replacement, Markwayne Mullin, stated he wanted to make sure the DHS no longer made headlines for staff behavior and has been scrapping many of her policies.
“I think he’s doing a good job,” Noem told Bartiromo of Mullin, adding: “He’s got a lot of help, and that’s wonderful.”
