Tricia McLaughlin, the Department of Homeland Security’s assistant secretary for public affairs, is expected to leave the Trump administration next week after planning her exit since December, according to reporting by The Daily Wire and POLITICO. The Daily Wire reported that she will be succeeded by Lauren Bis, a senior DHS media relations official.
Tricia McLaughlin, who serves as Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), is expected to leave the department next week and planned to notify colleagues on Tuesday, according to POLITICO and The Daily Wire.
The Daily Wire, citing a source familiar with McLaughlin’s plans, reported that she had intended to leave DHS in December but stayed on after two fatal shootings in Minneapolis last month.
McLaughlin previously worked as a communications aide on Vivek Ramaswamy’s 2024 presidential campaign and for Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, according to POLITICO as cited by The Daily Wire. The same reporting said that during President Donald Trump’s first term, she worked for then-Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and held a role at the State Department focused on arms control.
Lauren Bis, who serves as DHS deputy assistant secretary for media relations, is expected to assume McLaughlin’s role as assistant secretary for public affairs, The Daily Wire reported, citing a source.
McLaughlin’s expected departure comes as DHS has faced heightened scrutiny, including a Wall Street Journal report that described a culture of “constant chaos” at the department under Secretary Kristi Noem and included an account of a Coast Guard pilot being dismissed after an incident involving the secretary’s blanket, according to The Daily Wire’s summary of the Journal’s reporting.
It also comes during a partial federal shutdown affecting DHS operations, driven by a stalemate over DHS funding and Democratic demands for additional oversight and changes to immigration enforcement, according to the Associated Press and CBS News.
In a recent appearance on Fox News Sunday, McLaughlin said Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations would continue during the funding lapse. “Our immigration enforcement efforts will not be hampered by this in any way,” she said, adding that other DHS components, including the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), would be significantly affected.
She also criticized Democratic leaders, saying: “The Democrat politicians here, Chuck Schumer, Hakeem Jeffries, they are holding the American people’s national security hostage just in the name of scoring cheap political points, it’s really nonsensical.”
Separately, the Cincinnati Enquirer reported that McLaughlin, who has ties to Cincinnati, said she “wouldn’t rule anything out” when asked about potentially running for office in the future.
Other recent DHS-related departures include Madison Sheahan, the former deputy director of ICE, who stepped down and launched a Republican bid for Congress in Ohio’s 9th District, according to reporting from outlets including The Washington Post and Fox News. The Daily Wire also reported that Emily Covington, described as a former ICE spokeswoman, recently moved to the Department of Justice.
