WASHINGTON — Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin, one of the most forceful defenders of President Trump’s hardline immigration agenda, is leaving the department next week, The Post has confirmed.
McLaughlin, who had been in the role since Trump took office in January of last year, starting planning to leave in December but delayed her departure in the wake of the fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis last month, according to sources briefed on her exit, which was first reported by Politico.
McLaughlin herself said in a text message that while she was leaving DHS, “I’m not exiting the fight.”
The Ohio native worked in the State Department during Trump’s first term as Chief of Staff for Nuclear Arms Control. After the 45th president left office, McLaughlin served as communications lead on Buckeye State Gov. Mike DeWine’s 2022 re-election bid and Vivek Ramaswamy’s 2024 presidential campaign.
Despite ongoing controversy surrounding DHS, McLaughlin’s departure was described as amicable, with one source saying she was leaving for the “same reason anyone leaves: It’s a slog.”
“She did a great job,” this person added, insisting it “wasn’t like she was pushed out.”
Throughout her tenure, McLaughlin sparred with reporters and critics on social media.
She also worked to spotlight the scores of violent criminal illegal immigrants that the Trump administration deported.
Following the Jan. 7 shooting of Good after she accelerated her vehicle in the direction of an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer, McLaughlin declared on social media that “Dangerous criminals — whether they be illegal aliens or U.S. citizens — are turning their vehicles into weapons to attack ICE.”
She also claimed that Pretti, who was pinned down by Border Patrol agents before being shot Jan. 24, had “violently resisted” immigration enforcement officers and sought “to do maximum damage and massacre law enforcement” — a claim that was contradicted by video showing Pretti being disarmed before the shooting.
Much of DHS has been shut down since Friday night due to a stalemate in Congress over Democrats’ demands for reforms to ICE.
Republicans already funded ICE and Customs and Border Protection operations in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act signed by Trump last year, but the partial government shutdown impacts funding for the Coast Guard, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Transportation Security Administration (TSA), and more.
Additionally, McLaughlin’s departure comes amid rumors of a growing rift between Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem and border czar Tom Homan over immigration enforcement strategy.
Additional reporting by Josh Christenson.
