President-elect Donald Trump has chosen South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem as his pick for secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), according to two sources familiar with the decision.
Noem’s selection signals Trump’s commitment to prioritizing immigration enforcement, as prominent immigration hardliners Stephen Miller and Tom Homan are also expected to serve in senior roles at DHS. With Noem leading the department, Trump secures a trusted ally to head an agency central to his domestic policy goals.
During Trump’s previous term, DHS experienced considerable upheaval, with five leaders, only two of whom were confirmed by the Senate. The department, which has a $60 billion budget and a workforce in the hundreds of thousands, is responsible for agencies such as U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and the U.S. Secret Service.
Although Noem was once considered a potential vice-presidential pick, her relationship with Trump cooled after backlash over her memoir, No Going Back: The Truth on What’s Wrong with Politics and How We Move America Forward. In it, Noem describes an incident in which she euthanized her 14-month-old dog, Cricket, deeming the dog “untrainable” as a hunting companion. She later clarified that the story was intended to demonstrate her ability to make tough decisions when needed.
