DHS spokesperson leaves amid immigration push-back
By: Ted Hesson
and Kasper Ward
Reuters
WASHINGTON - Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin will leave the administration, she said in a social media post on February 17, [2026] a move that comes as pubic support for President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown has dwindled.
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McLaughlin was a prominent booster of the Republican president's aggressive approach to immigration enforcement and headed the press operations at DHS, which has come under scrutiny for issuing inaccurate or incomplete statements following violent encounters involving federal immigration officers.
..... McLaughlin, who described her own approach as "aggressive, "told The Cincinnati Enquirer, part of the USA Today Network, that her last day with the agency will be February 27. [2026]
..... Neither McLaughlin nor the Trump administration gave a reason for her departure. McLaughlin told The Enquirer in December [2025] that the job consumes much of her time and she considered it a privilege but also a sacrifice to do the work.
..... Lauren Bis, currently a deputy in the DHS public affairs division , will take the top role in the department and conservative commentator Katie Zacharia will join as a spokesperson, McLaughlin said, confirming moves previously reported by Reuters.
..... Public support for Trump's immigration enforcement push dropped to the lowest level of his presidency in January [2026] after months of clashes in U.S. cities and after federal immigration offices shot and killed two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis, Reuters/Ipos polls show.
..... Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem initially called the victims in those shootings "domestic terrorists" rather than back an investigation, leading to criticism form Democrats and some Republicans.
..... Democrats in the House of Representatives launched an effort in January [2026] to impeach Noem, saying she had violated pubic trust, stymied congressional oversight and engaged in self-dealing. Noem, a former governor of South Dakota, beams the face of Trump's immigration crackdown during his first year, appearing on the ground with ICE officers in New York city and posing for photographs in front of detainees in a high-security prison in El Salvador. A recent Wall Street Journal report detailed internal tension at DHS under Noem and top adviser Corey Lewandowski.
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Noem praised McLaughlin on X, saying she demonstrated "exceptional dedication, tenacity, and professionalism" during her tenure at DHS. A department spokesperson said McLaughlin's departure had been planed since December. [2025]
..... Incoming department spokesperson Zacharia previously worked as a legal adviser for Fix California, a conservative group that sins to address what it described as "the left's stranglehold" on state politics. The group was founded by Richard Grenell, who has served as Trump's envoy to Venezuela, and is the interim president and executive director of the Trump Kennedy Center in Washington.
..... In appearances on Fox News in recent months, Zacharia, a California native, has criticized Gavin Newson, the state's Democratic governor, and offered support for Trump's agenda.
..... Contributing: Erin Glynn and David Ferrara, The Cincinnati Enquirer