Former White House press secretary Sean Spicer has warned that Kristi Noem’s position inside the Trump administration is now effectively untenable.

“When you cross the Rubicon, from good or neutral to bad, you never come back,” the former White House press secretary said on The Huddle podcast today. “I can’t think of a single instance where somebody went from good or neutral to bad and then came back [in Donald Trump’s administration]. It doesn’t happen.”

Spicer suggested that the Homeland Security Secretary’s position was already “on thin ice” before her response to the Alex Pretti shooting. He described her decision to label the slain ICU nurse a “domestic terrorist” as a “complete, utter disaster.” He added: “This wasn’t a close call. This was the kind of thing that flips you from neutral or good into bad news.”

The fallout, he argued, is no longer confined to internal White House politics. “You have problems within MAGA world now,” Spicer said. “You’ve got the NRA, you’ve got influential conservative leaders.” He added that when outside allies start to turn, the internal calculus shifts rapidly. “That’s when people decide: is this worth the cost?”

Spicer, who served as press secretary in 2017 during Trump’s first term, said he was speaking from “very personal experience on this.” “You have to know whether to try to wait it out or to take the nearest off-ramp,” he said. “And I don’t see how anyone comes back from this.”

By contrast, Spicer drew a sharp distinction with Tom Homan, the administration’s border czar, whose standing he described as “rock solid.” “He’s played his cards smart and tight,” Spicer said. “He’s done his job, stayed focused, hasn’t chased headlines.” He added that Homan “delivers results,” and that “everyone in MAGA loves him, appreciates him and respects what he’s doing.”

Spicer pointed to a recent briefing in which press secretary Karoline Leavitt held up a copy of the Washington Post highlighting praise for Homan from the Obama era. “That’s your get-out-of-jail-free card right there,” he said. “If even Obama was recognizing the guy, that insulates you.”

Spicer also addressed confusion about whether Border Patrol official Greg Bovino had lost his job. “People think Greg Bovino is the head of CBP (Customs and Border Protection),” the former press secretary said. “He’s not. He’s a sector patrol guy who was given a title because of who he was close to Noem.” “So what’s one of Homan’s first acts?” he asked. “You clear out the people from that orbit. You say, ‘You can go back to your sector, but you’re not running this any more.’”

The episode, he said, illustrated a broader truth about working for the US President. “One of the greatest things about working for Trump is that he gives you a long leash,” Spicer said. “He doesn’t micromanage. His question is simple: are you doing your job, are you getting results?”

But the leash, he warned, can snap quickly. “You can surf the wave for a while,” Spicer said. “The second the wave turns and you fall off it, you’re out… Bovino flew too close to the sun.”