Trump names Kristi Noem as secretary of Homeland Security

President-elect Donald Trump picked Kristi Noem, governor of South Dakota, as secretary of homeland security.

The information was first released by two sources familiar with the matter who spoke with CNN. Noem's appointment comes the day after the president-elect named Tom Homan as the "border czar" and Elise Stefanik as ambassador to the United Nations.

"Noem will be tapped to take over the agency as two key immigration hardliners — Stephen Miller and Tom Homan — are slated to serve in senior roles, signaling Trump is serious about his promise to crack down on his immigration pledges," CNNN detailed.

Then, on Tuesday night, November 12, the Trump campaign released a statement officially announcing Noem.

Noem went from a virtually unknown governor to a rising star in the Republican Party during the pandemic, when she adopted a hands-off approach. By December 2020, she was one of the few female executives who had not decreed the use of facemasks or banned social gatherings. This stewardship led her to give a speech at the Republican National Convention and raise her national profile ever since.

Noem, of Norwegian descent, was born Nov. 30, 1971, in Watertown, South Dakota, where she grew up with her siblings, who regularly attended the local church and worked on the family farm.

After a childhood plagued by grain carts and calf work, she attended Northern State University, although she had to drop out because of a family tragedy. While pregnant with her first child, she learned that her father had been killed in a machine accident, forcing the young student to return home and take over the farm. After several years she started to dabble in politics.

In 2010, the then-state legislator launched an improbable run to be her state's only congresswoman in the House of Representatives. Considering that in 2004 the Democratic incumbent had won re-election by more than 30 percentage points.

However, a clever campaign coupled with Tea Party momentum accomplished what months earlier had seemed impossible. Noem prevailed on election day with 48.1% of the vote, barely ahead of her rival's 45.9%.

During his 7-year stint in the Upper House, she wrote 11 bills that became law and was dedicated to lobbying the leadership to reduce regulations and lower Federal Government spending. In turn, she supported Paul Ryan's initiative to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare).

Noem announced she would seek the Governorship of her state in November 2016, nearly two years before the election. She successfully overcame a tough primary challenge and managed to win the general election despite the 'Blue Wave' that swept the country during the 2018 midterm elections. She defeated Democrat Billie Sutton with 51% of the vote.

She was sworn in at the beginning of 2019 and became the first woman to govern the Mount Rushmore State.