Make no mistake about it… Donald Trump fired Kristi Noem as his Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, but unlike many others, he allowed her to save face.

Trump announced that she was making a lateral movement to a made-up envoy position, then announced the man who would take over the post.

Trump has already noted that his nominee of choice would be Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK), if Mullin's wife approves.

She’s out

Noem's being ousted was predicted many weeks ago, as was her being able to save face with another appointment.

Noem did not betray Trump, but she was just in way over her head and was clearly looking to use this position to further her personal profile.

The hearings on the Hill this week pretty much solidified her termination, so Trump announced she would be moving over to become the “Envoy for The Shield of the Americas.”

This is a made up position to allow Noem to save face, nothing more.

Noem breaks silence

If you have been watching Noem over the last few weeks, her body language said everything you needed to know about this termination.

She knew the hammer was going to fall, but that did not take the sting out of it once it happened.

Noem was appearing at the Shield of the Americas summit when word came down, and with a sullen attitude, she stated, "I do want to thank the president for creating this and for giving me the honor and the opportunity to serve as a special envoy to this region, to the Western Hemisphere.”

Noem was trying to show the world she was ready to be the first female president, and she fell woefully short. Having said that, she will find her place, and I would imagine her political career is far from over. But she will never be able to get into the White House as anything other than a VP, and even that is a very large question mark.

Noem’s replacement

Tom Homan seemed like the logical choice here, but since he was not named, he more than likely did not want the position.

Instead, Trump went with Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK), which will leave the Senate a seat short, so this is not the route I would have gone.

Mullin’s claim to fame is a public battle with the Teamsters’ boss as well as having personally flown to Afghanistan to evacuate Americans left behind enemy lines by Joe Biden during the withdrawal.

As far as his qualifications for this position, I wish I had better news, but he has never worked in immigration, and he has no military background. I wish him luck in this position, but he is clearly not my first choice for this role.