'Oof': Mockery abounds as Kristi Noem learns who will be her new boss

Former Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem may have been fired from that role following President Donald Trump's rage over her massive taxpayer expenditure on a commercial promoting herself, but she wasn't cast out of the Trump administration entirely — and her new assignment was met with widespread mockery as it was widely seen as a move to humiliate her.

Trump initially announced her firing as a new appointment as Special Envoy to the Shield of the Americas — a small, made-up role that was a clear downgrade to a Cabinet-level office. And on Tuesday, CBS News' Olivia Gazis reported that "In her capacity as Special Envoy to Shield of the Americas Kristi Noem will report directly to Deputy Secretary of State Chris Landau, per a State Department official."

This new development that her boss will be a deputy triggered a fresh wave of ridicule.

"Oof," wrote Politico diplomatic correspondent Felicia Schwartz.

"In March Madness terms, this is basically like getting kicked off the starting five and wounding up as the unlucky student who ensures the team mascot isn't being hassled by drunk frat boys," writer Charlotte Clymer posted.

"What about her emotional support Lewandowski?" wrote veteran and political commentator Andrew Donaldson, a reference to Corey Lewandowski, the on-again, off-again Trump adviser who reportedly ran vast swathes of the department for Noem and has long been rumored to be in an extramarital affair with her, which they both deny.

"Assistant Regional Manager to the Deputy Secretary of State," wrote Atlantic Council senior fellow Daniel Tannebaum — referencing the running joke on the workplace sitcom "The Office," in which iconic salesman Dwight Schrute frequently gets drunk on power from a meaningless assistant title that he keeps saying incorrectly to make it sound more important.