Kristi Noem’s confirmation hearing for homeland security secretary set for today
washington —Governor of South Dakota Kristi NoemPresident-elect Donald Trump’s pick to lead the massive Department of Homeland Security will answer questions from lawmakers at a Senate confirmation hearing on Wednesday.
She will appear before a 9 a.m. hearing before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, which has jurisdiction over the Department of Homeland Security and the department’s nominees to lead it.
Noem, a former Republican member of Congress who has served as South Dakota governor since 2019, is expected to be asked about the incoming Trump administration’s sweeping immigration plan, which includes a promised mass deportation campaign.
While the Department of Homeland Security oversees airport security, the U.S. Coast Guard, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and other responsibilities, it is also responsible for three major federal immigration agencies that play a key role in implementing Trump’s immigration agenda: U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Customs and Immigration. Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
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When Trump announced her nomination as Homeland Security secretary shortly after the election, he noted that Noem sent the South Dakota National Guard to the U.S.-Mexico border to help Texas officials bolster border defenses amid record numbers of migrants crossing the border.
If confirmed as Homeland Security secretary, Noem would likely join incoming border czar Tom Homan and Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller in developing plans for U.S. immigration and border policy in the second Trump administration. play an important role in reform. Republicans control the Senate majority, making her confirmation possible.
Among other promises, Trump and his advisers have vowed to reverse the Biden administration’s immigration plans, enact tougher rules at the U.S.-Mexico border, reduce refugee admissions and significantly increase deportations of immigrants living in the country illegally. The president-elect has also pledged to upend the longstanding principle of birthright citizenship to prevent children born to unauthorized immigrants from becoming U.S. citizens at birth.
Noem is considered a Trump loyalist and has been praised by conservatives for her record as governor, which has included speaking out against mask mandates and other coronavirus-era measures. But she also had her critics. Tribal nations in South Dakota, for example, banned her from their lands because of comments she made alleging cartel activity within tribal lands.
