South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem confirmed as U.S. Homeland Security secretary

Gov. Kristi Noem presents her annual budget address to lawmakers in the South Dakota State Capitol on Dec. 3, 2024. (Makenzie Huber/South Dakota Searchlight)

South Dakota Republican Gov. Kristi Noem will be the nation’s next secretary of the Department of Homeland Security after the U.S. Senate confirmed her nomination Saturday.

The 53-year-old Noem, a former congresswoman, will lead one of the federal government’s largest departments, with 260,000 employees and a budget in excess of $100 billion. Its responsibilities include border protection, disaster response, cyber and airline security, and protecting dignitaries.

The bipartisan vote to confirm Noem was 59-34, with her fellow South Dakota Republicans, Majority Leader John Thune and Sen. Mike Rounds, casting two of the votes in favor.

Speaking against Noem’s confirmation on the Senate floor, Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Illinois, warned that the mass deportation of undocumented immigrants Noem could carry out on behalf of President Donald Trump will harm the nation’s economy. Among the industries most affected, Durbin said, could be one of vital importance to Noem’s home state: agriculture.

“In many instances, they will be removing the very workers that pick the crop,” Durbin said.

Speaking in favor of Noem, Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said the United States is a nation of immigrants, but “we’re also a nation based on the rule of law, and we have not seen that immigration law enforced over the last four years.”

“So I’m going to be voting for Governor Noem, because she’s committed to enforcing our immigration laws,” Grassley said.

Lieutenant governor elevated

Noem ascends to the Homeland Security post after serving as South Dakota’s first female governor. She was serving her second four-year term after being reelected in 2022.

Noem resigned from that job Saturday and was succeeded by her lieutenant governor, Republican Larry Rhoden, who became the state’s 34th chief executive and will fill the remainder of Noem’s term through 2026. Rhoden will choose a new lieutenant governor, subject to confirmation by the South Dakota Legislature, which is in the midst of its annual lawmaking session. Rhoden’s office released a statement Saturday saying details on a ceremonial swearing-in will be announced.

Noem’s Saturday confirmation vote capped a rise into national prominence that began during the COVID-19 pandemic. Her decision as governor to avoid ordering widespread shutdowns in South…