Washington:
Donald Trump was expected to choose South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem on Tuesday to head the US Department of Homeland Security, a powerful post at the center of the new president's tough immigration policies.
Sources in Trump's transition team told US media, including CBS News, that he has chosen Noem, a longtime Trump loyalist who was once considered a strong candidate to become the Republican nominee's running mate.
Joining Trump's Cabinet would mark a notable political revival for Noem, who saw her shares plummet earlier this year when she released a memoir in which she recounted shooting an “untrainable” dog after a botched hunting excursion. Noem has said her actions showed she could make tough choices.
Homeland Security is a sprawling organization with a budget of more than $107 billion, about fifteen times that of South Dakota, where Noem is in her second term as governor.
If confirmed by the US Senate as secretary, the 52-year-old would oversee US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), along with protective security operations at the borders with Canada and Mexico, key agencies in any Trump plan for the restrict immigration or immigration. the deportation of undocumented people.
The DHS also oversees the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which helps communities during times of natural disasters such as hurricanes.
Trump himself has yet to confirm Noem's nomination. If true, this would be the latest quick pick as the Republican leader looks to fill out his Cabinet.
He has already chosen former immigration official Tom Homan as the country's “border czar” and tasked him with fulfilling his key domestic promise of mass deportations of undocumented migrants. The DHS Secretary would be closely involved in such operations.
Current Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas was impeached by the Republican-majority House of Representatives in February, as Republicans successfully made immigration and border security a key 2024 election issue. The Democratic-held U.S. Senate rejected the effort to convict him.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by DailyExpertNews staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
