Kristi Noem spends so much time changing her costumes and appearing on Fox, she isn’t minding the store.
The Department of Homeland Security blindsided Argentina last week by unexpectedly pausing a visa-waiver agreement as officials from Buenos Aires were already en route to Washington to sign the deal, according to two sources familiar with the discussions.
The apparent diplomatic snub was the result of a lack of communication and organization by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, two sources with knowledge of the situation tell Axios.
She’s very busy. Who has time to inform the State Department that you’ve signed agreements with foreign countries?
In July, Noem signed a statement of intent with Argentinian officials for the visa-waiver agreement. But Noem didn’t first tell Secretary of State and National Security Adviser Marco Rubio of the major international decision, Axios first reported.
Rubio and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles then penned a memo reminding all officials that they needed prior authorization to execute such agreements.
I don’t know. I’m sure Dear Leader is fine with Noem going rogue and running her own foreign policy. At least when it comes to sucking up to his fellow dictators.
The U.S. has grown closer to Argentina under that nation’s new president, Javier Milei. Noem praised Milei in a press release in which she pledged to try to readmit his country’s citizens to the Visa Waiver Program, which allows foreigners to visit the U.S. for 90 days without a visa.
As part of the deal, Argentina agreed to stop using Chinese-made computer systems and software for customs-related matters in favor of U.S. vendors, according to a source familiar with the discussions.
But Rubio’s State Department has had concerns about a corruption scandal that’s nagging at Milei’s administration, and wanted to have more discussions with Argentina about that before striking a visa agreement, the source said.
Come on. Why should the State Department be involved in such things? This is Kristi Noem we’re talking about. She’s a princess!
Did I mention that she’s busy?
No one from the U.S. government appears to have communicated those concerns to Argentina before a delegation from that nation left Buenos Aires for what it thought would be a Monday ceremony to sign the final visa-waiver agreement.
Argentina dispatched a high-level official — Juan Pazo, the head of Argentina’s tax and customs agency called ARCA — to attend the signing in Washington.
When Pazo and others arrived in Miami en route to D.C., however, DHS told the delegation not to continue its trip because the agreement was “missing a signature,” according to the source. The Argentinian officials also were told about the U.S. concerns over the corruption issue.
After two days in Miami, the Argentinian delegation went back home without a visa deal.
A senior Trump administration official told Axios, “let’s just say this was not a great look from us. It’s embarrassing.” DHS says
Ya think? On the other hand this is the Trump administration we’re talking about. Define “embarrassing.” I’m not sure that word has meaning any longer. Everything the U.S. does on the world state now is a total humiliation.
Trump calls her “my Kristi” so I’m guessing this is no big deal. The DHS Secretary is free to do as she pleases. Little Marco had better be careful. Trump may seem to be favoring him but I’m quite sure Trump remembers every insult Rubio hurled at him back in 2016.