Updated January 17, 2025 at 12:15 PM ET
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Who: Kristi Noem
Nominated for: Secretary of Homeland Security
You might know her from: Being the two-term governor of South Dakota
More about Noem:
- In 2021 and then again in 2024, Noem deployed members of the South Dakota National Guard to the Texas-Mexico border to assist with construction of the border wall.
- Noem was a member of the House of Representatives prior to becoming her state's first female governor.
- She entered the national political stage for her response to the COVID-19 pandemic, including her stances against mask and lockdown mandates.
What does this role do: Advises the president on security issues within the United States. In charge of immigration and border-related issues; the Coast Guard; the Federal Emergency Management Agency; counterterrorism; aviation security; and cybersecurity. Oversees more than a quarter-million employees.
What happened at the hearing:
Noem would lead the department poised to be at the center of Trump's immigration policy priorities, including any deportation efforts, visa changes, and border security.
"The reason that I asked for it is because I knew it was the president's number one priority," Noem told the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, about why she is best for the role.
"I knew that it would be needed to have someone in the position, that would do what the president promised the American people and would be strong enough to do it."
Lawmakers focused on working with Noem on the department's priorities, rather than questioning her qualifications, suggesting she faces a smooth path to confirmation.
In addition to overseeing the immigration agencies, DHS also handles intelligence, surveillance and training to prevent and track terrorist threats.
"Now, President Trump obviously won the last election with a clear mandate, and that mandate is for the American people to secure that border. But also we need to focus on domestic terrorism and homegrown terrorism," she later said, in a response to a question from Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., regarding the threat of terrorism.
Immigration as a major issue
But when asked about other issues, such as cybersecurity or domestic terrorism, Noem often pivoted to discussing border security.
"Why would we ever allow someone to come in from another country and not have consequences?" Noem said. She reiterated that a priority will be to immediately deport those who are in the country without authorization and have criminal convictions.
Noem said she would partner with Trump to reinstate the 'Remain in Mexico' policy, also known as the Migrant Protection Protocols, which would require certain asylum seekers to wait in Mexico until their court hearing dates in the U.S., in an effort to limit the number of people waiting inside U.S. borders.
And she vowed to shut down the CPB One App, an app asylum seekers use to set appointments, which Trump has falsely said is used for smuggling migrants.
She also said she wanted to end the use of the parole program, which processes certain nationals of Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela, and their immediate family members' requests to come to the United States.
Noem described the southern border as a "war zone," reiterating that she sent her state's National Guard there eight times, six of them in partnership with Texas.
Noem is expected to work to implement immigration policy set by 'Border Czar' Tom Homan, who sits inside the White House, and deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, who is also focused on immigration.
Answering questions about the relationship with Homan's White House advisory role, Noem said the DHS secretary will still be responsible for the actions the department takes.
"There's no authorities being planned to be taken away from the department or or myself if I'm in the role," she said.
Asked on homegrown terrorism
Democratic senators pressed Noem on what she would do as secretary to prevent terrorism, particularly domestic terrorism like the attack carried out by a U.S. citizen in New Orleans on New Year's Day.
Noem reiterated that "the number one threat to our homeland security is the southern border," in response to a question from Peters.
She acknowledged that homegrown terrorism is "on the rise" and that "knowing when people are leaving the country and coming back and changes to their behaviors, and what their actions are, is critically important."
But she did not provide details or propose specific policies to address the issue.
Later, Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Ct., urged Noem to give adequate attention to ISIS and other terror organizations radicalizing people living in the U.S.
"I know there's a lot of focus on the border. We all want more border security. We want to stop migrant crime — but let's not take our eye off the ball," Blumenthal said.
"The governor of Louisiana for the Super Bowl ought to be really riveted on the potential for homegrown terrorism as a threat, and I hope that you will help him and other governors to do their duty to protect our people of the United States from that homegrown terrorist threat."
New Orleans hosts the Super Bowl on Feb. 9.
Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., a former CIA officer, urged Noem to "be clear and honest about facts and not conflate things."
"Our most recent examples of domestic terrorism were not what we've spent the majority talking about today — crime from a migrant," Slotkin said. "And I don't dispute there is crime, but I just want to know, and I want to hear from you as an intelligence officer, that you're going to speak about real threats and not blow something up, politicize something, make something more exciting, because that's maybe what the president wants to hear."
Noem told Slotkin that she would "be as transparent and factual every day with you and the American people as possible, based on the information that I have."
Questions about U.S.-Canada border
Noem has previously supported several of Trump's immigration policies and proposals.
As a member of the U.S. Congress, she backed a 2017 executive order that banned travel into the U.S. for nationals of seven Muslim-majority countries.
And recently, she has voiced support for Trump's idea of ending birthright citizenship, despite the constitutional complications involved.
The Homeland Security committee, which includes several senators from northern border states like Michigan and New Hampshire, questioned Noem about her focus and dedication to the security of the border with Canada.
"Some of the landscapes there are very different than the southern border. Some just as equally challenging, but all need to be addressed," she said.
Past national profile
If confirmed, Noem will oversee more than 260,000 federal employees at agencies ranging from the Coast Guard and the Transportation Security Administration to the Federal Emergency Management Administration and the various divisions that enforce immigration and border laws.
In 2020, Noem allowed her state to opt in to the U.S. Refugee Resettlement Program, which helps refugees admitted into the U.S. settle into the country.
Over the last four years, Noem has positioned herself as tough on the southern border and drug trafficking by deploying members of the South Dakota National Guard to the Texas-Mexico border.
She also invited controversy last year. She claimed in a speech that cartels from the southern border used tribal reservations to "spread drugs throughout the Midwest," and that tribal leaders benefited. Her comments resulted in her banishment from lands held by the nine tribes of the state.
The Flandreau Santee Sioux tribe did lift Noem's ban ahead of Friday's hearing.
While testifying, she touted her relationship working with tribes. Noem said that even when it comes to the infrastructure of the border wall, there needs to be respect for tribal land.
Trump's border wall construction during his first term as president was criticized by border tribes such as the Tohono O'odham in Arizona for being built in the middle of sacred lands and ancestral burial grounds.
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