Gaffes are unfortunate. They embarrass. They make one cringe – whether from committing them or simply witnessing them. Sympathy and empathy are appropriate responses to those who err. But sometimes, gaffes expose something deeper, something that needs fixing.
That’s the case with Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who on Tuesday offered an incorrect explanation of habeas corpus.
“Habeas corpus is a constitutional right the president has to remove people from this country,” Noem said in response to Senator Maggie Hassan, a New Hampshire Democrat. “President Lincoln used it,” she added, before being cut off.
“That’s incorrect,” Hassan replied. “Habeas corpus is the legal principle that requires the government to provide a public reason for detaining and imprisoning people.”
Hassan is right. Noem is wrong.
Did Noem simply misspeak? Was she confused in the moment? One would hope so. But the American people have no way of knowing, aside from taking her word for it. And that’s a problem.
In an era of mass deportations – illegals should be deported with due process – one of the administration’s leading voices should fully understand one of our country’s bedrock principles. Full stop. After all, Immigration and Customers Enforcement (ICE) is an agency under Noem’s purview. It’s not as if the question was posed to U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent who hasn’t any authority in these matters (although he may have been able to answer it).
While the Constitution does allow for the suspension of habeas corpus “in cases of rebellion or invasion,” it does not specify which branch – the executive or the legislative – holds that power. When President Lincoln suspended habeas corpus during the Civil War, the act was so extraordinary he sought Congress’s retroactive approval. That was wartime. We are not in a civil war today.
Trump advisor Stephen Miller has floated the idea of suspending habeas corpus “depending on what the courts do.” Against that backdrop, Secretary Noem’s inability to articulate or even understand the concept is troubling. Not just for her, but for the administration.
Accountability matters. Noem should take responsibility and step aside. That is the only way Americans – regardless of political persuasion – can believe their government respects the Constitution and the liberties it protects. A secretary who leads deportation efforts – reiterating illegals should be deported with due process – but can’t answer a question on habeas does not inspire confidence. Americans deserve a secretary who can and does.
What say you?