Politics Kristi Noem to be U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security

SDA

25.1.2025 - 18:31

ARCHIVE - South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem appears before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee for her confirmation hearing at the Capitol. Photo: Ben Curtis/AP/dpa/Archive image
ARCHIVE - South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem appears before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee for her confirmation hearing at the Capitol. Photo: Ben Curtis/AP/dpa/Archive image
Keystone

The US Senate has confirmed the appointment of Kristi Noem as the future Secretary of Homeland Security of the United States. 59 senators voted in favor of the governor of South Dakota, 34 against her. The department is responsible for immigration and border protection authorities - and US President Donald Trump has made mass deportations a priority of his term in office. Anyone nominated for a ministerial post requires the approval of the Senate. Trump's Republicans have a narrow majority there.

Keystone-SDA

The 53-year-old Noem is a staunch supporter of Trump. In her Senate hearing, she described the situation on the USA's southern border with Mexico as a "war zone". Noem was at times considered as Trump's running mate during the election campaign, but her memoirs earned her negative headlines: In it, Noem described how she shot her young dog Cricket because she was not suitable to be a hunting dog. She later explained that this showed her willingness to make tough decisions.