Dems put Noem on notice

• "Noem, Markwayne, Miller, Homan, Bovino, what's up? Clear your schedule," Rep. Delia Ramirez (D-Ill.), a member of the House Homeland Security Committee, warned on X.
• She was referencing current DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin (who replaced Noem), White House Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, Border Czar Tom Homan and former Border Patrol commander-at-large Gregory Bovino.
• Dems on the House Oversight Committee included former DHS Special Government Employee Corey Lewandowski in a list of people who should "lawyer up."

Zoom in: Rep. Bennie Thompson, the top Democrat on the Homeland Security Committee, said in a letter to colleagues he'd prioritize investigating every death in DHS custody and during arrests.

• Thompson, who is running for committee chair and the subpoena power that comes with it, also plans to investigate alleged financial corruption at the agency and oversight of spending, particularly the gargantuan budget supplied by the One Big Beautiful Bill.

• "I called for Kristi Noem's impeachment in January, and she was gone by March. But the questions she refused to answer are still open," Thompson wrote.
• "Tom Homan and Stephen Miller would not appear [for a hearing] when we invited them this spring. In the majority, they will not have that choice," he wrote.

Zoom out: Democratic leaders in both the House and Senate have a lengthy list of areas for oversight, according to sources familiar with their plans.

That includes:

• The billions spent to expand ICE detention, including Alligator Alcatraz and a warehouse buying spree. Oversight agencies have been reviewing these purchases.
• Noem's purchase of luxury private jets that she claimed could be used for deportation flights. A senior administration official called these purchases "abuse" at the time.
• Alleged conflicts of interest involving Lewandowski, Noem's top advisor, who was accused of seeking payments from DHS contractors. Lewandowski has long denied wrongdoing. Dems have welcomed reports that the Justice Department was investigating Lewandowski.
• Use of force incidents involving ICE agents, including fatal shootings. They also want to investigate a whistleblower complaint about how ICE's hiring spree reduced the amount of training new agents received before being put on the streets.

Between the lines: Noem was dismissed from her role in part because of a $200 million DHS ad campaign, starring her.

• Noem claimed in a congressional hearing that President Trump was aware of the cost of the ad campaign, which encouraged self-deportations.
• Noem also oversaw a policy of personally signing off on all agency spending over $100,000, creating a bottleneck that slowed down everything from border wall construction to FEMA grants. The agency said at the time the policy fought waste, fraud and abuse.

The other side: DHS declined to share comment from Mullin, who formerly served in both the House and Senate.

• DHS general counsel James Percival said in response to Ramirez on X, "It is unfortunate that Democrats are more interested in political shenanigans than in governing. Rest assured, however, that we are well prepared to deal with this nonsense so Secretary Mullin can continue focusing on protecting the homeland."
• DHS declined to say which oversight priorities Percival considers nonsense.

The White House referred comment on Noem and Lewandowski to DHS, but spokesperson Lauren Bis said of Homan or Miller's potentially being called to testify: "If Democrats choose to pursue sham investigations and radical left policies, they are choosing to work against the American people." DHS did not respond to a follow-up request on Noem or Lewandowski.

• Bovino, who is now retired, replied to Ramirez on X, "Honey, slow your totalitarian roll. Citizens don't answer to communists in this country as much as you seem to believe that."
• Lewandowski did not respond to an Axios request for comment.