Trump Taps South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem as New Homeland Security Secretary | The Gateway Pundit

UPDATE: President Trump has officially selected South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem as the next Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

According to the press release:

I am pleased to announce that the Governor and former Congresswoman from South Dakota, Kristi Noem, will be appointed to serve as the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Kristi has been very strong on Border Security. She was the first Governor to send National Guard Soldiers to help Texas fight the Biden Border Crisis, and they were sent a total of eight times. She will work closely with “Border Czar” Tom Homan to secure the Border, and will guarantee that our American Homeland is secure from our adversaries. I have known Kristi for years, and have worked with her on a wide variety of projects – She will be a great part of our mission to Make America Safe Again.

Governor Kristi Noem issued the following statement: “I am honored and humbled that President Donald J. Trump has selected me to be the Secretary of Homeland Security. I look forward to working with Border Czar Tom Homan to make America SAFE again. With Donald Trump, we will secure the Border, and restore safety to American communities so that families will again have the opportunity to pursue The American Dream.”

Governor Kristi Noem Bio:

Governor Kristi Noem is a rancher, farmer, small business owner, and New York Times bestselling author.

In 2010, after serving in the South Dakota legislature for several years, Noem was elected to serve as South Dakota’s lone member of the U.S. House of Representatives. During her time in Congress, in addition to many other successes, Governor Noem helped pass the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which put $2,400 back in the pockets of the average South Dakota family.

In 2018, with the platform of protecting South Dakotans against tax increases, government growth, federal intrusion, and government secrecy, she was elected as South Dakota’s first-ever female Governor.

In 2022, Governor Noem was re-elected with the largest vote total in the history of South Dakota.

As Governor, Noem has respected the rights of her people by trusting them to exercise their personal responsibility to make the best decisions for themselves, their loved-ones, and – in turn – their communities. She has focused on building stronger families and keeping South Dakota “Open for Business.”

Governor Noem raised her three children – Kassidy, Kennedy, and Booker – with her husband Bryon. Now they have three grandchildren and a fourth on the way. The whole family has a deep love for each other and an even deeper love for the Lord.

President Donald Trump has chosen South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem as the next Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), according to sources familiar with the decision reported by CNN.

While Trump has not officially announced his choice, the reported move is widely viewed as part of his commitment to strict immigration enforcement.

Noem’s appointment comes as Trump names immigration hardliners Stephen Miller and former ICE director Tom Homan to senior advisory roles.

Stephen Miller has reportedly been selected to serve as White House Deputy Chief of Staff, with an advisory role on immigration plans. At the same time, Tom Homan has already been announced as the new “Border Czar.”

Both are known for their uncompromising views on immigration enforcement, reinforcing the administration’s pledge to address border security with unprecedented vigor.

CNN reported:

With his selection of Noem, Trump is ensuring a loyalist will head an agency he prioritizes and that is key to his domestic agenda.

The department saw an immense amount of turmoil the last time Trump was in office. Then, DHS had five different leaders, only two of whom were Senate-confirmed. The agency has a $60 billion budget and hundreds of thousands of employees.

Noem, who previously was a South Dakota representative, will now be tasked with overseeing a sprawling agency that oversees everything from US Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement to the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the US Secret Service.

Noem had once been on Trump’s shortlist for vice president, though her relationship with Trump shifted after the negative rollout surrounding the publication of her book: “No Going Back: The Truth on What’s Wrong with Politics and How We Move America Forward.” In it, she revealed that she once killed her 14-month-old wirehair pointer, Cricket, when she was not displaying the signs of an ideal hunting dog.

The governor wrote that the dog was “untrainable,” according to excerpts first reported by The Guardian. Noem later argued that those anecdotes were meant to show how capable she is of doing some of the more gruesome jobs in life when necessary.

If officially confirmed, Noem will replace Alejandro Mayorkas, under whose tenure U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) reported nearly 3 million inadmissible encounters, totaling approximately 10.8 million since Fiscal Year 2021.

According to the report from the Deputy Director of ICE Patrick Lechleitner sent to Congressman Tony Gonzalez, over 662,000 illegal immigrants with criminal histories are currently on ICE’s national docket.

Even more alarming is that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is currently tracking over 425,000 illegal immigrants convicted of various crimes, while 226,000 face pending criminal charges, all of whom have been released into the United States under the regime’s lenient immigration enforcement.

Of that staggering number, over 13,000 illegal immigrants have been convicted of homicide, and more than 15,000 have been convicted of sexual assault.

These individuals are not in custody—they are roaming free in communities across the country, thanks to the administration’s so-called “catch and release” policy.

This story has been updated with additional information.