President-elect Donald Trump has selected South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem as his incoming Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, according to two people familiar with the choice.
Noem’s appointment signals Trump’s commitment to following through on his immigration pledges. Alongside Noem, key immigration hardliners Stephen Miller and Tom Homan are set to take on senior roles, reflecting the administration’s focus on a strict immigration policy. Trump’s choice ensures that a loyal supporter will head DHS, an agency central to his domestic agenda.
During Trump’s previous administration, DHS faced significant upheaval, with five different leaders, only two of whom were Senate-confirmed. As the head of this vast department, Noem will manage a $60 billion budget and lead hundreds of thousands of employees. DHS oversees US Customs and Border Protection, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and the US Secret Service.
Noem’s political journey has been closely tied to Trump. She was previously a top candidate for his vice president, although her relationship with Trump cooled after the fallout from her book No Going Back: The Truth on What’s Wrong with Politics and How We Move America Forward. In it, Noem recounted a story of putting down her 14-month-old wirehair pointer, Cricket, after the dog failed to show hunting promise, sparking backlash. Noem described Cricket as “untrainable” and recalled that the experience was intended to illustrate her readiness to tackle difficult tasks.
While some criticised Noem’s account, drawing comparisons to past controversies involving politicians and pets, she defended her choice as an example of making “tough, necessary decisions.” The dog had caused multiple issues on hunting trips and had even killed chickens. Noem’s account didn’t end there, as she also described putting down a family goat in a similarly direct manner, underscoring her commitment to decisive action in challenging situations.
Following the book’s publication, reaction to Noem’s accounts of animal euthanasia has been mixed, with some detractors calling her “deliberately cruel.” Others in the hunting community expressed disgust at her actions, especially when it came to handling Cricket’s training and eventual fate. Noem, however, responded by saying, “Tough decisions like this happen all the time on a farm,” mentioning she had recently had to put down three horses that had been with her family for over two decades.