The Senate confirmed Kristi Noem as secretary of the Department of Homeland Security on Saturday, voting to give President Donald Trump another Cabinet official who has pledged to help carry out his aggressive crackdown on illegal immigration.
The bipartisan vote was 59-34. No Republicans opposed Noem’s nomination.
Noem’s final vote follows the Senate’s confirmation of Marco Rubio, who Trump tapped as secretary of State and Pete Hegseth, who will lead the Department of Defense. Republican leaders are working to make good on their promise to press ahead with confirming the president’s Cabinet nominees even as some Democrats raise objections, slowing down the process.
The South Dakota governor’s ascension to DHS came as a surprise in some quarters. She doesn’t have a law enforcement background, and during her four terms as a House member she never served on the committee overseeing the department. But she had key support from Trump’s 2016 campaign chief, Corey Lewandowski, and border czar Tom Homan, who advocated for her nomination.
Her history as a Trump loyalist also helped her win the nod, as well as her backing of the president’s plans to further crack down on the border and deport undocumented immigrants living in the country.
But given her lack of experience, outside allies have viewed Noem’s selection as further indication that the administration’s immigration policy will be centralized in the White House, run by Homan and Stephen Miller, deputy chief of staff for policy and homeland security adviser. This could allow Noem to focus more attention on the numerous other agencies within the sprawling department, including FEMA, TSA and the Secret Service.
Noem sailed to confirmation after a low-drama hearing earlier this month, during which she took questioning from Republicans and Democrats for three hours. She vowed to help the president reinstate “Remain in Mexico,” a first-term policy that required asylum seekers to wait in Mexico for their hearings. But it will require the administration to secure an agreement with Mexico first, which may be difficult given Trump’s prior provocations of the neighboring country.
“President Trump was elected with a clear mandate. He needs to achieve this mission because two-thirds of Americans support his immigration and border policies, including the majority of Hispanic Americans,” Noem said during her confirmation hearing this month.
