US Senate confirms nomination of Kristi Noem as head of the Department of Homeland Security

After Pete Hegseth, the US Senate confirmed the nomination of Kristi Noem to lead the Department of Homeland Security. The South Dakota Governor was nominated to the post by US President Donald Trump soon after he won the 2024 US Presidential elections. With the confirmation, Noem will be put in charge of a sprawling agency that is essential to national security.

Noem’s nomination came at a time when Trump has already started to implement his plans to clamp down on illegal immigrants. During the Senate voting, the Republican lawmakers unanimously supported Noem’s bid and even got support from seven Democrats, including John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, Tim Kaine of Virginia, Andy Kim of New Jersey, Gary Peters of Michigan, Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, Margaret Hassan of New Hampshire and Elissa Slotkin of Michigan.

The final vote stood at 59-34 in favour of Noem’s nomination. The Senate is now scheduled to vote to confirm the nomination of Scott Bessent Trump’s treasury secretary picks on Monday evening. Noem’s confirmation came a day after the upper chamber confirmed the nomination of Pete Hegseth as the country’s Defence Secretary. The former Fox News host was confirmed following a dramatic tie-breaking vote by US Vice President JD Vance on Friday.

Noem pledges to make America Safe

Shortly after the voting, the South Dakota governor took to X, formerly known as Twitter to thank Trump for the opportunity. “I will work to make America SAFE again,” she wrote in the post. Some of the Democratic Senators or those caucusing with their party skipped the voting procedure. This includes Angus King of Maine, Jeff Merkley of Oregon, Brian Schatz of Hawaii, Tina Smith of Minnesota, Raphael Warnock of Georgia and Ron Wyden of Oregon, The New York Times reported.

While addressing the Senate floor GOP Senate majority leader, John Thune of South Dakota argued that Noem would be fit for the job. “Fixing this crisis and restoring respect for the rule of law is one of President Trump and Republicans’ top priorities,” he said. “And it’s going to require a decisive and committed leader at the Department of Homeland Security. I believe Kristi has everything it takes to undertake this task," the Republican Senate leader furthered.

It is pertinent to note that Homeland Security oversees federal agencies like US Customs and Border Protection, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Citizenship and Immigration Services. Not only this, the Department is also responsible for ensuring the security of airline transportation, protecting dignitaries, responding to natural disasters and more.

Noem held her state’s lone House seat for eight years before she became the governor of South Dakota in 2019. She raised in ranks within the Republican party due to her close association with Trump. At one point she was even in the consideration to be his running mate. However, that wave died down after she released her book last year in which she mentioned an account of her killing her hunting dog, as well as a false claim that she once met with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

With inputs from agencies.