Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-Newark) and Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem locked horns during an oversight hearing before the Homeland Security Committee, marking the first time the two have faced off against each other since McIver was formally charged with assaulting an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent in the Spring of 2025.
McIver, who claims the charges brought against her are politically motivated, took an opportunity during the hearing to level accusations at Noem of trying to avoid accountability from Congress, making a reference to how she was treated by ICE officers during an oversight visit to the Delaney Hall immigrant detention center. “The truth is, you are deeply unqualified for the post you hold,” McIver said to Noem during the hearing.
“This is on full display in the way you treat the people in this body, myself included, who have been elected to serve our communities and keep them safe: Representative [Adelita] Grijalva, Senator [Alex] Padilla, myself, and others whose character and integrity and bodies were attacked by your department without evidence and without apology,” McIver continued.
According to the New Jersey Globe, from this point forward, the exchange grew into a tense, bitter battle between the two women. “Do you agree that using DHS resources to target members of Congress is an abuse of power?” McIver asked the DHS secretary. “Excuse me, would you say that again?” Noem replied. She had been in the middle of delivering an answer to a previously asked question when McIver interrupted.
“You would have heard me if you stopped talking and listened to my questions,” McIver fired back. “If you would stop talking crazy and making stuff up,” Noem returned fire. McIver repeated the question. “We are not doing that. We are out there enforcing the law, doing our work, and we are allowing oversight.” The encounter was vastly different than the one the two women had during a hearing held on May 14, 2025, which was between McIver’s May 9 visit to the detention center and the May 19 announcement of charges against her for allegedly assaulting an ICE officer. During that exchange, McIver slammed Noem, but focused primarily on issues concerning student visas and the Transportation Security Administration.
Watch them fight here:
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Noem has not been secretive about her feelings toward McIver. In several interviews, the DHS secretary referred to the actions of McIver toward the ICE officer she allegedly assaulted as “horrible” and called them a felony. The judge overseeing McIver’s case has directed Homeland Security to remove statements that have been published concerning the congresswoman and her case and to take down social media posts that disparage her. However, several of those still remain visible, including one that was published on Noem’s X account.
On a video clip of the exchange between Noem and McIver going viral on social media, users expressed their thoughts on the congresswoman, with one saying, “McIver can’t even speak proper English.” Another account said, “This is what happens when we allow low IQ districts to have representation in our halls of Congress. McIver used her time solely for a libelous attack upon Noem. She makes a mockery out of Congress.”