The Senate confirmed Kristi Noem as secretary of the Division of Homeland Safety on Saturday, voting to offer President Donald Trump one other Cupboard official who has pledged to assist perform his aggressive crackdown on unlawful immigration.
The bipartisan vote was 59-34. No Republicans opposed Noem’s nomination.
Noem’s last vote follows the Senate’s affirmation of Marco Rubio, who Trump tapped as secretary of State and Pete Hegseth, who will lead the Division of Protection. Republican leaders are working to make good on their promise to press forward with confirming the president’s Cupboard nominees whilst some Democrats increase objections, slowing down the method.
The South Dakota governor’s ascension to DHS got here as a shock in some quarters. She doesn’t have a legislation enforcement background, and through her 4 phrases as a Home member she by no means served on the committee overseeing the division. However she had key assist from Trump’s 2016 marketing campaign chief, Corey Lewandowski, and border czar Tom Homan, who advocated for her nomination.
Her historical past as a Trump loyalist additionally helped her win the nod, in addition to her backing of the president’s plans to additional crack down on the border and deport undocumented immigrants dwelling within the nation.
However given her lack of expertise, exterior allies have considered Noem’s choice as additional indication that the administration’s immigration coverage will probably be centralized within the White Home, run by Homan and Stephen Miller, deputy chief of employees for coverage and homeland safety adviser. This might permit Noem to focus extra consideration on the quite a few different businesses throughout the sprawling division, together with FEMA, TSA and the Secret Service.
Noem sailed to affirmation after a low-drama listening to earlier this month, throughout which she took questioning from Republicans and Democrats for 3 hours. She vowed to assist the president reinstate “Remain in Mexico,” a first-term coverage that required asylum seekers to attend in Mexico for his or her hearings. However it would require the administration to safe an settlement with Mexico first, which can be troublesome given Trump’s prior provocations of the neighboring nation.
“President Trump was elected with a clear mandate. He needs to achieve this mission because two-thirds of Americans support his immigration and border policies, including the majority of Hispanic Americans,” Noem mentioned throughout her affirmation listening to this month.
