DHS spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin to leave Trump admin, source confirms

Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin is leaving the Trump administration, Fox News has confirmed.

McLaughlin, one of the administration's most vocal defenders of President Trump's immigration enforcement policies, is set to leave the administration next week. 

Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin is leaving the Trump administration, Fox News has confirmed. (Fox News)

The DHS spokesperson planned to leave as early as December but delayed her departure amid high-profile DHS incidents, including the shooting deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis last month, according to a person briefed on her exit. Politico was first to report that McLaughlin plans to depart DHS next week.

McLaughlin is also known for forcefully responding to critics on X, where she frequently pushed back on claims about the administration’s immigration enforcement operations. 

In one example, she rejected allegations from Senate Judiciary Democrats that 2025 had become the deadliest year in decades for immigrants in ICE custody, accusing Democrats of "trying to twist data to smear ICE law enforcement" and stating there had been "NO spike in deaths." 

Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin poses for a portrait in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 22, 2026. McLaughlin is leaving the Trump administration next week, Fox News has confirmed. (Jack Gruber-USA TODAY)

McLaughlin also argued that those held in ICE custody receive appropriate medical care and a "higher standard of care" than most U.S. prisons.

As news of her departure broke, McLaughlin posted a detailed defense on X responding to criticism over Coast Guard involvement in migrant transport flights, arguing the mission had been diverted for search-and-rescue efforts and accusing critics of seeking to "politicize this mission and tragic loss of life."

An Ohio native, McLaughlin also served in the first Trump administration at the Treasury Department under then-Secretary Steven Mnuchin and at the State Department on arms control issues.

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McLaughlin previously served as political communications director for Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine and as a senior adviser on Vivek Ramaswamy’s 2024 Republican presidential campaign, according to the DHS website.

Fox News Digital's Preston Mizell and Charles Creitz contributed to this report.  

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.