Republicans kept the Senate working Saturday to install the latest member of Trump’s national security team.
Kristi Noem has been confirmed by the Senate as the new homeland security secretary. She is now responsible for overseeing an agency critical for national security and for implementing President Donald Trump’s policies on illegal immigration.
Republicans kept the Senate working Saturday to install the latest member of Trump’s national security team on a 59-34 vote.
Another significant confirmation was that of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, after a tie-breaking vote took place on Friday evening. He joins other key appointees such as Secretary of State Marco Rubio and CIA Director John Ratcliffe. The confirmation vote for Scott Bessent as treasury secretary is scheduled for Monday evening.
Governor Noem, a strong supporter of President Trump, was backed by 7 Democrats in the Senate. With the Republicans already having enough votes for her confirmation, they have shown faith in her ability to effectively manage border security and immigration control.
On social media, Noem thanked Trump for “the confidence in me to serve as Secretary of Homeland Security.”
She added, “I will work to make America SAFE again!”
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said Friday, “Fixing this crisis and restoring respect for the rule of law is one of President Trump and Republicans’ top priorities. And it’s going to require a decisive and committed leader at the Department of Homeland Security.”
Democrats are split on how to handle border enforcement and immigration under Trump, with some warming to his hard-line stand.
Still, Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York, as well as most other Democrats, voted against Noem. He pointed to “bipartisan solutions to fix the mess at our border,” adding that Noem “seems headed in the wrong direction.”
The homeland security secretary oversees U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Citizenship and Immigration Services. Beyond those agencies, the department is also responsible for securing airline transportation, protecting dignitaries, responding to natural disasters and more.
Trump is planning major changes to how the department functions, including involving the military in immigration enforcement and reshaping the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Those plans will immediately put Noem in the spotlight after the new president visited recent disaster sites in North Carolina and California on Friday.
During her Senate hearing, Noem was repeatedly asked by Democratic senators whether she would administer disaster aid to states even if Trump asked her not to.
Noem avoided saying she would defy the president, but told lawmakers, “I will deliver the programs according to the law and that it will be done with no political bias.”
Six people cycled through as homeland security secretary during Trump’s first four years in office.
Noem, who held her state’s lone U.S. House seat for eight years before becoming governor in 2019, has risen in the GOP by tacking closely with Trump. At one point, she was even under consideration to be his running mate.
Her political stock took a momentary dip, however, when she released a book last year containing an account of her killing her hunting dog, as well as a false claim that she once met with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
Noem will be tasked with delivering on Trump’s favorite issue, border security. The president’s goals of deporting millions of people who entered the country illegally could put Noem, with her experience governing a rural state and growing up on a farm, in a difficult position. In South Dakota, many migrants, some in the country without permanent legal status, power the labor-heavy jobs that produce food and housing.
She has so far pledged to faithfully execute the president’s orders and copied his talk of an “invasion” at the U.S. border with Mexico.
Noem joined other Republican governors who sent National Guard troops to Texas to assist Operation Lone Star, which sought to discourage migrants. Her decision was especially criticized because she accepted a $1 million donation from a Tennessee billionaire to cover some of the deployment cost.
Noem said she opted to send National Guard troops “because of this invasion,” adding that “it is a war zone down there.”
