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Kristi Noem confirmed as secretary of homeland security

"Thank you, Mr. President Donald Trump, for your confidence in me to serve as Secretary of Homeland Security - I will work to make America safe again!" wrote Noem on her X account upon learning of the confirmation.

Kristi Noem testifica en el Senado sobre su nominación como secretaria de Seguridad Nacional

Kristi Noem on Capitol HillAFP / Saul Loeb.

Published by
Williams Perdomo

The Senate confirmed Kristi Noem's nomination as secretary of Homeland Security. The final tally was 59 votes to 34.

"Thank you, Mr. President Trump, for the confidence in me to serve as Secretary of Homeland Security. I will work to make America SAFE again!" wrote Noem on her X account upon learning of the confirmation.

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Noem will now fill the position vacated by Alejandro Mayorkas at the head of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), an institution founded in the years of George W. Bush after the 9/11 terrorist attacks and that now has a very different challenge: immigration.

This challenge will provide much to talk about in the next four years of Republican presidency due to Trump's promises of strict measures against undocumented immigrants that he has already begun to fulfill.

Noem's career

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 leaders who had not decreed the use of facemasks or banned social gatherings. That 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 on Nov. 30, 1971, in Watertown, S.D., where she grew up with her siblings, who regularly attended their local church and worked on the family farm.

In 2010, the then-state legislator launched an improbable run to be her state's only congresswoman in the House of Representatives. This feat was all the more impressive considering that in 2004, the Democratic incumbent won reelection by more than 30 percentage points.

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

During her eight-year stint in the House, she lobbied 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).

Kristi Noem, governor of South Dakota

Noem announced she would seek the governorship of her state in Nov. 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 midterms.

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

Support for Trump's immigration measures

As a representative, Noem supported President Donald Trump's 2017 Executive Order 13769. That order suspended the U.S. refugee program for 120 days and restricted travel from seven Muslim-majority countries.

She also backed a temporary ban on refugees from terrorist-controlled areas, citing national security concerns. The order, known as the "travel ban," led to confusion at airports and the detention of some green card holders and dual citizens returning to the U.S.

Noem would not comment on these aspects of the order or its broader implications for legal U.S. residents. The executive order faced widespread criticism and legal challenges, and was ultimately reviewed and upheld by the Supreme Court in 2018.
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