Doggone It: Disturbing Reason Trump Gave Kristi Noem Key DHS Job — As 'ICE Barbie' Faces Rising Calls For Her Firing

Donald Trump saw something in Kristi Noem that had him eager to include her in his administration, and that something may have been her confession to killing a puppy, RadarOnline.com can reveal.

Noem, best known as the "Ice Barbie," was tapped as the Secretary of Homeland Security, even after she made the disturbing admission in her memoir.

In the 2024 book, titled No Going Back, Noem boasted she shot a 14-month-old puppy named Cricket, claiming the female dog was "aggressive," and putting her disgust for the animal on display.

"I hated that dog,” Noem wrote, labeling the pet "worthless."

She added: "It was not a pleasant job, but it had to be done." According to Noem, following the senseless killing, she then buried the puppy in a gravel pit.

While Noem's admission may have turned away most presidents, it did not turn Trump off, at least according to a new book by NBC News reporter Julia Ainsley.

In the forthcoming book, Undue Process: The Inside Story of Trump’s Mass Deportation Program, Ainsley makes bold claims, including that Trump considered Noem to be his vice president in 2024, before going with JD Vance.

But while her dog-killing story ended any hope of Noem being Trump's second-in-command, it did not keep her out of the administration.

Everyone appeared to be appalled by Noem, except for Trump, as Ainsley writes, "Trump actually saw this particular biographical detail as an asset in his Homeland Security Secretary – it was one of the reasons he chose her."

Noem began working in the Department of Homeland Security in January 2025, but has been brutally mocked for her behavior, including her "cosplay" outfits, as protests against ICE continue to ramp up.

Following the outcry, the 54-year-old touched on the dog incident during an interview with Miranda Devine on her Pod Force One podcast and defended her animal-killing ways.

"The dog was actively killing animals for fun, had been massacring chickens, and then had tried to bite me and attack me," Noem claimed at the time. "That is something that happens from time to time, and keeping children and people safe is incredibly important."

She added: "At that time, we had little kiddos around every single day… I knew I had to take responsibility for the situation." And while she claimed she "absolutely loves animals," Noem also admitted to killing a "disgusting, musky, rancid" male goat who "loved to chase" her children.

However, Trump and Noem may see eye-to-eye on dogs, as the president is the first commander-in-chief not to have a dog since William McKinley.

As for Noem, the relentless mocking has continued, even over a year into her position. Earlier this month, the Republican was called out after posting a photo of herself signing a contract to buy more steel, despite Trump once claiming Mexico would pay for the wall.

"Just signed the last contract for the purchase of steel for the wall," Noem wrote alongside the photo. "Build baby build."

The contract gives the delayed project at the southern border the go-ahead to proceed with construction. The announcement also clears a major hurdle after the DHS paused on about 200 miles of planned barriers while reviewing contracts for compliance.

"I thought Mexico was paying for the wall?" one person on X asked, as another reacted, "Why would we purchase steel? Don said that Mexico was paying for it… what changed?"

A focus for Trump during his first presidential campaign was that Mexico would be responsible for footing the bill for the border wall, a claim he continued to push to his loyal fan base.