South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem is reportedly poised to win President-elect Trump’s nomination to lead the Department of Homeland Security.
Noem, 51, a two-term conservative Republican, will become the third key immigration hardliner to be named to Trump’s new administration cabinet after Stephen Miller was tapped to be deputy White House chief of staff and Tom Homan as so-called border czar, CNN first reported.
She would control the sprawling agency that oversees U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Miller has said that mass deportation of millions of undocumented immigrants will start as soon as Trump is inaugurated on Jan. 20.
Homan had been a tough-talking fixture on the Trump campaign trail for months, vowing that he has the know-how to seal the border and deport millions of undocumented immigrants. Rep. Michael Waltz (R-Florida) will be named National Security Administrator, another key post.
Noem was once considered a possible candidate to be Trump’s vice presidential running mate but did not make the three-person veepstakes short list.
Trump wound up picking JD Vance to be his vice president and is poised to also nominate other finalists Marco Rubio as secretary of state and Doug Burgum as so-called energy czar.
Noem, a married mom of three, earned widespread ridicule with the publication of her memoir in which she recounted killing a dog named Cricket because she believed he was not a good hunting dog.
Noem said she shot the dog and even spotlighted her actions to show that she is capable of making tough choices.
She appeared at Trump’s side during some campaign events, notably including an odd incident when then-candidate Trump stood and swayed to his campaign playlist for nearly 40 minutes at a event billed as a town hall question and answer session.
Trump is moving quickly to announce cabinet picks in the week since his election win over Vice President Kamala Harris.
He named campaign co-chair Susie Wiles as White House chief of staff last week.
Two New York Republicans have also been named to the cabinet with Rep. Elise Stefanik as UN ambassador and ex-Rep. Lee Zeldin to lead the Environmental Protection Administration.
