President-elect Donald Trump appoints South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem as the new Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security

Washington: Kristi Noem, a former congresswoman and South Dakota governor, was named the next Secretary of the US Department of Homeland Security on Tuesday by President-elect Donald Trump, who defeated Democratic nominee Kamala Harris in the 2024 US presidential election.

This is just one of the several actions the US president-elect is taking to quickly assemble his national security and foreign policy staff in preparation for his official inauguration in January 2025.

It gives me great pleasure to announce that Kristi Noem, the governor and former congresswoman of South Dakota, will be named Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Regarding border security, Kristi has been adamant. According to Trump’s statement, “She was the first governor to send National Guard soldiers to help Texas fight the Biden Border Crisis a total of eight times.”

She will ensure that our American homeland is safe from our enemies and will work closely with “Border Czar” Tom Homan to safeguard the border. Kristi and I have collaborated on several projects throughout the years that we have known one another. “She will play a significant role in our endeavor to restore America’s safety,” Trump said.

Governor Noem expressed her humility and honor at being appointed, and she looked forward to collaborating with Border Czar Tom Homan to “make America safe again.”

“The appointment of me as Secretary of Homeland Security by President Donald J. Trump fills me with both honor and humility. To restore America’s safety, I’m excited to collaborate with Border Czar Tom Homan. In a statement, she said, “With Donald Trump, we will secure the border and bring safety back to American communities so that families can once more pursue the American Dream.”

Noem was elected as South Dakota’s first female governor in 2018 and was re-elected in 2022 with the highest number of votes in the state’s history.

Trump had earlier in the evening of Tuesday announced a number of significant appointments, including the appointment of former National Intelligence Director John Ratcliffe as the CIA Director, White House Counsel William Joseph McGinley, former New York Congressman Lee Zeldin as the EPA Administrator, and Pete Hegseth as Secretary of Defense.

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