On Saturday, the Senate voted to confirm South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem as the Department of Homeland Security Secretary. This approval marks her as the fourth nominee of President Donald Trump to be confirmed by the Senate.
The vote tally was 59 in favour and 34 against, with all present Republicans voting yes and seven Democrats supporting her nomination. Noem was expected to receive a comfortable confirmation, having encountered no significant challenges during her confirmation hearing.
Her nomination was approved by the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee with a vote of 13 to 2, with only two Democrats opposing her at that stage.
Noem becomes the fourth of President Donald Trump’s picks to be confirmed, behind Secretary of State Marco Rubio, CIA Director John Ratcliffe and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth.
Noem will lead the department at a time when securing the border and tackling illegal immigration are top priorities for the new administration. The administration has taken a number of actions to secure the border, including deploying the military, restarting wall construction and ending Biden-era parole programs.
Meanwhile, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has been launching deportation operations throughout the country to fulfill Trump’s promise of a “historic” operation.
The Department of Homeland Security has issued a slew of memos since Trump’s inauguration, ordering reviews of parole and expanding the ability of officials to quickly deport illegal immigrants from the U.S. who have recently arrived. Those memos have been signed by Acting Secretary Benjamine Huffman.
At her confirmation hearing, Noem pointed to other parts of the Homeland Security mission, including cybersecurity, disaster relief and counterterrorism.
However, she emphasized that border security is a “top priority.”
“As a nation, we have the right and the responsibility to secure our borders against those who would do us harm. And we must create a fair and lawful immigration system that is efficient and is effective, and that reflects our values,” she said.
As governor, she pledged in 2021 not to take any more migrants from the Biden administration and also deployed the National Guard to the border in Texas. She also had experience with disaster response, working with federal officials to tackle floods that hit the state in June.
At her hearing, Noem was also asked about how she would work with border czar Tom Homan, who has been tapped to lead the deportation effort and secure the border.
Noem responded by saying that she and Homan “work very well together and talk and communicate all the time. And we’ll be working together on a daily basis when we’re in our positions under the new administration. And I would say there’s no authority being planned to be taken away from the department or myself if I’m in the role.”
