South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, President-elect Donald Trump‘s nominee to be the next secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, is set for her Senate confirmation hearing on Friday.
Trump nominated his longtime ally on Nov. 12 for the role central in his task to crack down on the number of immigrants entering the U.S. illegally. Noem was originally scheduled to appear before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on Wednesday before the Washington hearing was pushed to Friday morning.
The farmer and small-business owner turned elected official was shortlisted to be Trump’s vice presidential nominee before he ended up choosing now-Vice President-elect JD Vance to the Republican ticket.
“Kristi has been very strong on Border Security,” Trump said in a statement. “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.”
Those outside the Mount Rushmore State may best know the governor for several controversies, including how she described putting down an “untrainable” dog in a 2024 memoir. Following President Joe Biden’s 2020 victory, Noem said she would refuse a COVID-19 lockdown and has also flip-flopped her stance on outlawing transgender girls and women from playing in female sporting events across South Dakota.
Here’s what else to know about Kristi Noem on the day of her Senate confirmation hearing.
When did Kristi Noem enter politics?
Noem, 53, began her political career when she served in the state House of Representatives between 2007 to 2011.
She then joined Congress, representing the state’s at-large district until 2019, when she was became the first female South Dakota governor. She was later reelected in 2022 with the largest vote total in the state’s history, according to the governor’s office website.
Outside of politics, Noem is also a rancher, farmer and small-business owner, according to the website. She is also a New York Times bestselling author with multiple books, including her first “Not My First Rodeo: Lessons from the Heartland,” published in January 2022.
Last May, her latest book, “No Going Back,” published revealing several stories about her personal and professional journey including the infamous dog controversy.
Why did Kristi Noem kill her dog Cricket?
Noem wrote in “No Going Back” that she killed her dog because of its “aggressive personality” and called the dog “untrainable,” according to The Guardian.
She wrote that the dog, named Cricket, was a 14-month-old wirehair pointer.
Noem responded to the criticisms on X for what she called a necessary decision, saying that “Cricket had shown aggressive behavior toward people by biting them, I decided what I did.” She also cited South Dakota law that allows owners to put down dogs that attack and kill livestock.
“Whether running the ranch or in politics, I have never passed on my responsibilities to anyone else to handle. Even if it’s hard and painful. I followed the law and was being a responsible parent, dog owner, and neighbor,” she wrote in the April 28 post. “As I explained in the book, it wasn’t easy. But often the easy way isn’t the right way.
What is the false anecdote from her book?
Cricken’s death was not the only controversy to come out of the book. The book also included an anecdote that she had met reclusive North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Un during her time in Congress. The story was later revealed to be false and part of an attempt to boost her foreign policy bona fides.
“I remember when I met with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un,” she wrote in the book. “I’m sure he underestimated me, having no clue about my experience staring down little tyrants (I’d been a children’s pastor, after all).”
Noem’s spokesperson later confirmed to Politico and other news outlets that the story is not accurate and it was later removed from the book.
What are other Kristi Noem controversies?
Beyond the book, Noem has been criticized for deploying the state National Guard to the southern border last year to combat illegal immigration but opposed sending troops to aid areas reeling from historic devastating floods.
Last summer, all nine South Dakota tribes officially endorsed Noem’s banishment from their lands after she made disparaging remarks against Native American parents, saying their children “have no hope,” according to the Sioux Falls Argus Leader, part of the USA TODAY Network. Tribal leaders were also upset that Noem “continually pushed claims that Mexican drug cartels have a ‘presence’ on South Dakota Indian reservations,” the Argus Leader reported.
Watch Kristi Noem’s confirmation hearing
The hearing is expected to begin at 9 a.m. on Friday, Jan. 17.
Contributing: Mary Walrath-Holdridge, Josh Meyer, Julia Gomez USA TODAY
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