US Senate confirms Kristi Noem as homeland security secretary

Kristi Noem has been appointed as the homeland security secretary by the US Senate, giving the governor of South Dakota the authority to oversee a crucial component of President Donald Trump’s effort to stop illegal immigration.

Noem was confirmed by legislators on Saturday, voting 59-34 to confirm him as the administration’s fourth nominee after Pete Hegseth and Marco Rubio were appointed defense secretary, secretary of state, and director of the intelligence agency, John Ratcliffe.

Since 2019, Noem has served as the first female governor of South Dakota and is a four-term congresswoman. She will now head the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees immigration, customs, emergency management, and the security service.

We must protect our borders from immigration and illegal trafficking. We must safeguard our critical infrastructure to make sure that we’re protected against cyberattacks, respond to natural disasters, and also terrorism”, Noem told senators during her confirmation hearing.

She said, “Keeping criminal aliens out of our country and off our streets will make American communities safer once more.”

Noem said her focus will be directed towards “homegrown terrorism”, as well, and promised there will be no “political bias” when managing disaster relief.

The new secretary, a long-time ally of Trump, comes into office as part of a string of president-wide immigration executive orders, including one that has caused a national emergency at the US southern border and put an end to the birthright citizenship process.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, she rejected mask mandates and social distancing. Trump also praised her for sending soldiers from the US to Mexico.

It’s still to be seen how her new role will fit in with Tom Homan’s role as the “border czar” who has served as the focal point for Trump’s immigration crackdown.