US President-elect Donald Trump nominated S. Dakota Governor Kristi Noem as the new homeland security secretary. Kristi Noem is now serving as S. Dakota governor. The US Department of Homeland Security’s mission is to ensure border security and cyber security. The Department of Homeland Security also controls immigration-related agencies. Though no official notifications have been released, this decision will help in Republican Trump’s future Immigration policies by the US Government. Here we will discuss more about the new secretary Kristi Noem.
About Kristi Noem
Kristi Noem is an American politician currently serving as South Dakota Governor. Kristi Noem is a small business owner and best-selling author of books No Going Back in 2024 and Not My First Rodeo: Lessons from the Heartland in 2022. She is also a Rancher and a farmer. She is serving as South Dakota’s 33rd Governor. She is the first female governor of South Dakota. She is in her second term as a Governor.
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DHS Secretary Kristi Noem Personal Life
Kristi Noem was born on November 30, 1971, in Watertown, South Dakota. She was born to Corrine and Ron Arnold. Her parents worked as farmers. She grew up in Hamlin, east-central South Dakota. Kristi Noem got married to Bryon Noem and together they have three children Kassidy, Kennedy, and Brooker. They also have three grandchildren. Besides farming, she also has an interest in hunting.
Kristi Noem Education
Kristi Noem completed her schooling at Hamlin High School in 1990. Then she attended Northern State University. She graduated from South Dakotas State University.
Kristi Noem Political Career
Kristi Noem was a member of the South Dakota House of Representatives(6th District) from 2007 to 2011. She was elected to serve as a member of the US House of Representatives from 2011-2018 representing the Republican party. She is currently serving as South Dakota governor since 2019. Kristi Noem as a governor is protecting South Dakotans from an increase in taxes and helping with federal intrusion, government growth, and secrecy.
In the first term as governor of South Dakota, she expanded high-speed broadband access. She also launched an anti-methamphetamine campaign. During the pandemic, she did not close the businesses and was also reluctant to impose rules on wearing masks. South Dakota had a high death rate during that time while the unemployment rate decreased. Kristi Noem opposed an order issued by US President Joe Biden where workers were forced to receive COVID-19 vaccinations.
During Kristi Noem’s second term as governor, when abortion became an important issue she banned all abortions in the state, except when there were any life-threatening complications for the mother. There was a speculation arising about Kristi Neom contesting in elections for president in 2024, but she decided not to participate in the elections. In an interview given to Fox News in 2023, she stated that no one will be able to win the US presidential elections if Trump is competing. Kristi Noem was then seen supporting Trump in the US presidential election campaigns.
Kristi Noem was banned from 20 percent of South Dakota as Native American Tribes banned her from their reservations. The South Dakota governor often had issues with the local tribal leaders. The clashes between the tribal leaders and Kristi Neom increased in 2024 when she accused leaders of being involved in drug cartels.
DHS New Secretary Kristi Noem Controversies
In her book Not Going Back, Kristi Noem narrates an incident where she shoots her 14-month-old female dog. The Kristi Noem dog shooting narration led to criticisms and controversies. As per Kristi Noem, the reason behind the dog shooting is that the dog was untrainable. She also states that the dog killing was not a pleasant job.
Kristi Noem also mentions a male goat whom she calls as nasty and mean. She wrote that the goat had attacked her children and decided to kill the goat. The part where she mentions all these incidents was published by The Guardian in April 2024. After the criticism and controversies she appeared on Fox News and said that she killed her dog for the safety of her children.
In the book No Going Back, Kristi Noem also mentioned meeting North Korean Dictator Kim Jong Un. According to the New York Times report, in an excerpt from the earlier version of the book, she explains that Kim Jong Un underestimates her as he has no clue about her experience staring down little tyrants. After her statement got criticisms her spokesperson said that the story shouldn’t have been included in the book. The spokesperson also said that before publishing that portion will be removed from the book No Going Back.
In 2020 when Kristi Noem’s daughter applied for a real estate appraiser license which was denied, she called a meeting with the director of the agency. Though Noem’s daughter got a license after four months, the director of the licensing agency allegedly retired later that year.
In 2023 the administration of South Dakota was sued by a non-profit organization as the state ended a contract that funded a community health worker in the organisation which provides support to transgenders and does social services. In the next year, the South Dakota administration had to apologize and give $300000 to the organization.
Kristi Noem became famous after COVID-19 when she refused to impose mandatory rules on wearing masks during the pandemic.
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Conclusion
Here we got a glimpse into the life of Kristi Noem, the nominated homeland security by US-elected president Donald Trump. Kristi Noem will have to take over the responsibility of US Customs, Border Protection, Customs Enforcement, and US Secret Service. She has a history of political career where she has handled immigration policies. Kristi Noem has always remained as an allay of Republican Donald Trump. Kristi Noem has supported Donald Trump in his 2024 election campaigns.
