Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas) slammed Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem for her recent trip to Israel, declaring it just another “photo op.”
Crockett said she didn’t think anything substantive would come from the foreign trip scheduled days after two Israeli Embassy staffers were fatally shot outside of a museum in Washington.
“You just had a good photo op. And I think that that’s probably all Kristi Noem is good for, is a photo op,” Crockett said Sunday during an appearance on MSNBC’s “Weekends with Alex Witt.”
Noem has faced heavy criticism in recent months from lawmakers and others for wearing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) gear, including a bulletproof vest, in photos and videos and when speaking to reporters along the southern border. During a trip to El Salvador, the secretary also received pushback for giving remarks in front of prisoners at the notorious megaprison known as CECOT.
However, she said her Sunday trip to Israel was not arranged for the media but requested by President Trump after a shooting killed the couple, identified as 26-year-old Sarah Lynn Milgrim and 30-year-old Yaron Lischinsky.
The two staffers were killed after a gunman opened fire outside of the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington last week. The shooter also shouted “free Palestine” during the incident, according to police — likely in protest over the ongoing Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.
“Following the horrific terrorist attack in Washington DC killing two Israeli diplomats, @POTUS Trump asked me to visit Israel and meet with Prime Minister [Benjamin Netanyahu],” Noem wrote in a Monday post on the social platform X, showcasing MSNBC footage of her at the Western Wall in Jerusalem. “Hate will not have the last word.”
Netanyahu also shared an image alongside the secretary thanking her for her “unwavering support” of Israel.
Crockett has been openly critical of Trump and his administration since the president returned to the White House in January. She has also joined with her fellow progressive Democrats to push for change in her own party.