Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem testified before a Senate panel on Tuesday regarding her department’s fiscal year 2026 budget request, highlighting the accomplishments of the Department of Homeland Security under President Donald Trump.

She also addressed questions related to the budget and legal issues surrounding the detention and deportation of illegal immigrants.

“Now, at the Department of Homeland Security, under President Trump, we’ve already delivered a drastic turnaround in homeland security, from the southern border to our Coast Guard to cyberspace,” Noem said during her opening statement, adding, “and we’re just getting started.”

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.@Sec_Noem is testifying before Senators this morning on the DHS budget for fiscal year 2026.

"Now, at the Department of Homeland Security, under President Trump, we've already delivered a drastic turnaround in homeland security, from the southern border to our Coast Guard to… pic.twitter.com/rXDKtLx2V3

— Virginia Allen (@Virginia_Allen5) May 20, 2025

DHS, a federal agency with a budget exceeding $100 billion, was misused under the previous administration, according to Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Rand Paul, R-Ky.

Paul accused DHS of weaponizing its resources to surveil American citizens and conducting questionable experiments involving dangerous viruses.

“Secretary Noem, I appreciate your demonstrating commitment to reversing the obstruction of your predecessor and pushing back on efforts by entrenched bureaucrats within the department to delay, redact, and resist oversight. You’ve inherited a difficult task, restoring accountability to a department that has strayed from its founding mission,” Paul said.

Under the leadership of Trump and Noem, the department as a whole is prioritizing border security and the removal of individuals who entered the country illegally.

Senate Republicans praised the administration’s efforts to strengthen the southern border, though Noem also fielded questions about the scale of DHS’s proposed budget.

Noem is requesting $46.5 billion for border wall security, and Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., asked the secretary why the request was ” so high when we were able to build so many miles in the first term for a lot less?”

Noem stated that the budget request includes funding for wall panels and additional surveillance technologies, such as cameras and Customs and Border Protection towers. “We’re $37 trillion in debt,” Johnson responded.

“I’m just going to ask you and the department to sharpen your pencil on that wall request. I think it’s more than you need,” he added.