Noem has been governor of South Dakota since 2019, the first woman to serve as governor in the state’s history. She won reelection in 2022 and began her second term in January 2023. Previously, she was elected to South Dakota’s at-large seat in the U.S. House of Representatives in 2010. Before Congress, Noem was elected to South Dakota’s House of Representatives in 2006. The news of her selection was first reported by CNN.

Noem was previously touted as a running mate for Trump in the 2024 election. However, a controversy surrounding a passage from Noem’s newly-released book in which she detailed having to kill a dog quieted such rumors. 

As head of the DHS, Noem will be tasked with protecting the country. As stated on the department’s website: “The Department of Homeland Security has a vital mission: to secure the nation from the many threats we face. This requires the hard work of more than 260,000 employees in jobs that range from aviation and border security to emergency response, from cybersecurity analyst to chemical facility inspector. Our duties are wide-ranging, and our goal is clear – keeping America safe.”

While Noem does not have any direct experience working on the Southern border, during her time in Congress, she backed Trump’s controversial Muslim ban, saying that she that she agreed with Trump’s move to halt the acceptance of refugees from “terrorist-controlled regions.”

She also offered to personally deliver razor wire to her Texas counterpart Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX) for use along the U.S.-Mexico border.

“Governor Abbott has done the exact right thing,” Noem said on Fox News. “And I’ll drive him more razor wire from South Dakota if I have to for him to do his job.”

In the wake of Govs. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) and J.B. Pritzker (D-IL) making moves to “Trump proof” their states to defend migrants from Trump’s flagship mass deportation policy, Noem said the remarks were “not a mature response.”

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“If I had a new president in the White House, and even if he wasn’t from my political party, the first thing I would do would be call him up and see if I could get a meeting,” Noem said on NewsNation.

One of Noem’s main responsibilities will be border security and illegal immigration. The current dilemma at the U.S. border has been a task that current DHS secretary Alejandro Mayorkas struggled with during his term. Noem will work with Trump’s recently announced selection of Tom Homan as “border czar” to resolve the crisis at the border, which has led to millions of illegal immigrants entering the United States.

Annabella Rosciglione contributed to this reporting.