South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem faces Senate Homeland Security panel: NPR

We follow confirmation hearings for the incoming Trump administration. See our full political coverageand follow NPR’s Trump’s terms podcast or sign up for our policy newsletter to stay updated.

WHO: Noem of Christ

Nominated for: Minister for Homeland Security

You may know her from: Being a two-term governor of South Dakota

More about Noem:

What this role does: Advises the President on US security matters. Responsible for immigration and border related issues; the Coast Guard; Federal Emergency Management Agency; counter-terrorism; aviation security; and cyber security. Supervises more than a quarter of a million employees.

What happened during the hearing:

Noem would lead the department poised to be at the center of Trump’s immigration policy priorities, including any deportation efforts, visa changes and border security.

“The reason I asked for it is because I knew it was the president’s number one priority,” Noem told the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee about why she is best for the role.

“I knew it would be necessary to have someone in the position who would do what the president promised the American people and would be strong enough to do it.”

Lawmakers focused on working with Noem on the department’s priorities rather than questioning her qualifications, suggesting she faces a smooth road to confirmation.

In addition to overseeing immigration agencies, DHS also handles intelligence, surveillance, and training to prevent and track terrorist threats.

“Now President Trump obviously won the last election with a clear mandate, and that mandate is for the American people to secure that border. But we also have to focus on domestic terrorism and homegrown terrorism,” she later said in a response to a question from Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., regarding the threat of terrorism.

Immigration as a big problem

But when asked about other topics, such as cyber security or domestic terrorism, Noem often turned to discussing border security.

“Why would we ever allow someone to come in from another country and not face consequences?” Noem said. She reiterated that a priority will be to immediately deport those who are in the country without permission and have criminal convictions.

Noem said she would work with Trump to reinstate the ‘Remain in Mexico’ policy, also known as the Migrant Protection Protocols, which would require certain asylum seekers to wait in Mexico until their court hearings in the US, in an effort to limit the number of people waiting within US borders.

And she promised to shut down CPB One Appan app used by asylum seekers to set up appointments that Trump has falsely said is used to smuggle migrants.

She also said she wanted to end the use of parole programwhich processes certain citizens of Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela and their immediate family members’ requests to come to the United States.

Describing the southern border as a “war zone,” Noem reiterated that she sent her state’s National Guard there eight times, six of them in cooperation with Texas.

Noem is expected to work to implement immigration policy set by White House ‘Border Czar’ Tom Homan and Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, who is also focused on immigration.

In response to questions about Homan’s relationship with the White House advisory role, Noem said the DHS secretary will still be responsible for the actions the department takes.

“There are no authorities scheduled to be taken away from the department or myself if I am in the role,” she said.

Asked about homegrown terrorism

Democratic senators pressed Noem on what she would do as secretary to prevent terrorism, particularly domestic terrorism like the attack carried out by an American citizen in New Orleans on New Year’s Day.

Noem reiterated that “the greatest threat to our homeland security is the southern border,” in response to a question from Peters.

She acknowledged that homegrown terrorism is “on the rise” and that “knowing when people leave the country and come back and change their behavior and what their actions are is critically important.”

But she did not provide details or suggest specific policies to address the problem.

Later, Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Ct., urged Noem to give sufficient attention to ISIS and other terrorist organizations that radicalize people living in the United States

“I know there’s a lot of focus on the border. We all want more border security. We want to stop migrant crime — but let’s not take our eye off the ball,” Blumenthal said.

“The governor of Louisiana for the Super Bowl should be really dumb about the potential for homegrown terrorism as a threat, and I hope you will help him and other governors do their duty to protect our people in the United States from the homegrown terrorist threat.”

New Orleans will host the Super Bowl on February 9.

Late. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., a former CIA officer, urged Noem to “be clear and honest about the facts and not mix things up.”

“Our recent examples of domestic terrorism were not what we’ve spent most of our time talking about today — crime by a migrant,” Slotkin said. “And I’m not disputing that there is crime, but I just want to know, and I want to hear from you as an intelligence officer that you’re going to talk about real threats and not blow something up, politicize something, do something more exciting, because maybe that’s what the president wants to hear.”

Noem told Slotkin that she would “be as transparent and factual every day with you and the American people as possible, based on the information I have.”

Questions about the border between the United States and Canada

Noem has previously supported several of Trump’s immigration policies and proposals.

As a member of the US Congress, she supported a 2017 executive order banning travel to the US by citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries.

And recently she has voiced support for Trump’s idea of ceases to be a natural born citizendespite the constitutional complications involved.

The Homeland Security Committee, which includes several senators from northern border states like Michigan and New Hampshire, questioned Noem about her focus and dedication to Canadian border security.

“Some of the landscapes there are very different from the southern border. Some are just as challenging, but all need to be addressed,” she said.

Previous national profile

If confirmed, Noem will oversee more than 260,000 federal employees at agencies ranging from the Coast Guard and Transportation Security Administration to the Federal Emergency Management Administration and the various departments that enforce immigration and border laws.

In 2020, Noem allowed his state to sign up United States Refugee Resettlement Programwhich helps refugees admitted to the United States settle in the country.

Over the past four years, Noem has positioned himself as tough on the southern border and drug trafficking by deploying members of the South Dakota National Guard to the Texas-Mexico border.

She also invited controversy last year. She claimed in a speech that cartels from the southern border were using tribal reservations to “spreading drugs throughout the Midwest,” and that tribal leaders benefited. Her comments resulted in her banishment from lands held by the nine tribes in the state.

The Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe lifted Noem’s ban ahead of Friday’s hearing.

While testifying, she touted her relationship with working with tribes. Noem said that even when it comes to border wall infrastructure, there must be respect for tribal land.

Trump’s construction of a border wall during his first term as president was criticized by border tribes such as Tohono O’odham in Arizona for being built in the midst of holy lands and the burial grounds of the fathers.

As the potential new head of the nation’s federal National Disaster Response Force, Noem may also face questions about her dealing with devastating floods in her state. Her response as governor was criticized for not deploying the state’s National Guard, failing to issue evacuation orders and delaying the request for an emergency declaration.