Kristi Noem says DHS should stop disinformation efforts

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Homeland Security, isn’t so keen on the department’s entire “thwarting of foreign manipulation.”

At his confirmation hearing on Friday, Noem gave his thoughts on the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), which was formed during the first Trump administration. For background, Trump fired Chris Krebs as CISA director after the 2020 election, following Krebs’ work exposing Republican lies about voter fraud. The agency has been under fire from Republicans ever since for its work to counter misinformation and disinformation.

Noem suggested that she would limit some of that work, says agency has fallen “far short of mission” and that its leaders are “using their resources in ways that were never intended.” She said that “the misinformation and disinformation that they’ve dabbled in and messed with needs to be refocused on what their job is,” which Noem said is to “support critical infrastructure” by protecting “small businesses.” and utility companies against cyber attacks.

Given that the protection of national infrastructure is an important part of the Agency’s work, there is no reason to believe that the Agency should refocused on the mission. It’s also strange to hear Noem talk about the need to protect Americans’ data from foreign cyberattacks while downplaying the need to fight disinformation in the same breath. Stolen data can be used by foreign actors to target Americans with misinformation and manipulation campaigns. Actually in 2016 it happened — in favor of Donald Trump. And it’s fair to say that’s factored into the GOP’s general reluctance to thwart misinformation over the past several years.

In his farewell speech, Joe Biden warned about the Big Tech oligarchy, largely made up of social media owners and executives, rallying around Trump. And he warned that they could use disinformation to maintain their power.

As DHS Secretary, Noem would be on the front lines of America’s war on disinformation and in a key role in confronting the manipulators who want to influence us all. She showed no interest in doing so at her confirmation hearing on Friday.