DIGGING DEEPER: South Dakota governor nominated to lead Dept. of Homeland Security

PIERRE, S.D. (KTTC) – One week after winning back the White House, President-elect Donald Trump is wasting no time building his second administration.

Among the picks is South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem, tapped to serve as secretary for the Department of Homeland Security.

Noem, 52, has no significant experience with homeland security issues but has voiced support for Trump’s hardline immigration policies. She has defended her fellow Republican governors in their efforts to crack down on migrants in their states.

If confirmed, Noem would head an agency that is at the center of Trump’s sweeping immigration plans and his campaign vow to carry out mass deportations of immigrants in the United States illegally.

Noem is currently in her second term leading the Mount Rushmore State. She became South Dakota’s first female governor after winning the state’s 2018 election. Before that, she was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 2011 to 2019 and the South Dakota House from 2007 to 2011.

According to her biography, Noem is a rancher, small business owner, and New York Times best-selling author.

Noem has criticized President Biden’s handling of the border, echoing Trump’s arguments that violent criminals are flooding into the country.

In a statement, announcing his choice for Homeland Security secretary, Trump said Noem “was the first governor to send national guard soldiers to help Texas fight the Biden border crisis.” He went on to say she would “work closely with ‘Border Czar’ Tom Homan.” Homan served under Trump in his first administration, leading U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

The Department of Homeland Security is a federal agency of 260,000 employees created in the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks, with a vast area of responsibility. As secretary, Noem would oversee ICE, Customs and Border Protection, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the Secret Service, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), and the U.S. Coast Guard.

At one point, Noem was considered a possible 2024 presidential candidate herself, and then a potential pick as Trump’s running mate.

However, an admission in a book she published in the spring that she once shot and killed her dog didn’t sit well with some. Noem said it was a story from 20 years ago about protecting her children from what she calls a vicious animal.

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