Kristi Noem faces Senate confirmation hearing | FOX 2 Detroit

Kristi Noem faces Senate confirmation hearing

Kristi Noem, Donald Trump’s pick to head the Department of Homeland Security, faced Senators Friday at her first confirmation hearing. 

Noem, a two-term South Dakota governor and former U.S. congresswoman, appears to have strong backing from GOP senators who will be crucial to her confirmation. Six people cycled through the homeland security secretary position during Trump’s first four years in office.

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Noem’s role in border security 

President-elect Donald Trump's nominee to be Homeland Security Secretary, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

If confirmed, Noem would lead one of the federal government’s largest agencies and play a big role in Trump’s border security overhaul. 

RELATED: Trump Cabinet picks enter third day of Senate confirmation hearings

She would replace outgoing DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, who was so vilified by Republicans angry at the number of migrants crossing the country's southern border that they impeached him in early 2024.  

Why you should care:

On Friday, Noem pledged a complete turn from Mayorkas' policies, saying she was determined to carry out Trump's plans to choke off illegal immigration and deport millions of migrants.

She committed to ending CBP One, a phone app the Biden administration has used to process asylum-seekers' entry into the country. She also pledged to scale back the use of humanitarian parole, curtail the use of temporary immigration relief for migrants from countries experiencing unrest, and reinstate a Trump-era policy of requiring asylum-seekers to wait in Mexico for hearings in U.S. immigration court.

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Noem said she would prioritize deporting migrants with criminal records once in office, then turn to those who have received final deportation orders.

Agencies Noem would run include U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Citizenship and Immigration Services. Beyond those agencies, the department is also responsible for securing airline transportation, protecting high-profile dignitaries, responding to natural disasters and more.

GOP senators back Noem

GOP senators will be crucial to her confirmation, and so far, Noem has plenty of them on her side. 

What they're saying:

Sen. Rand Paul, the Republican chair of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, said he would be looking for Noem "to lead an agency that has lost its way."

Her supporters said Friday that Noem's background of growing up on a farm and governing a rural state would give her the skills needed to implement Trump's plans.

Democrats questioned whether she is qualified to lead a department crucial to the country's safety.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a Connecticut Democrat on the committee, said he had "serious doubts" about her ability to manage "this huge organization of such serious consequence to national security."

Noem defended killing puppy

The backstory:

Last year, Noem was widely criticized – by both Democrats and Republicans – for revealing in her memoir that she killed her 14-month-old dog. In an excerpt of "No Going Back," Noem wrote that she took her 14-month-old female dog, Cricket, to a "gravel pit" near her farm, shooting the animal because it killed and ate several chickens and was "less than worthless" and "untrainable."

RELATED: Kristi Noem defends killing puppy after widespread outrage from Republicans and Dems

Dig deeper:

When the memoir was released, Noem was on the shortlist of potential vice presidential candidates for Trump’s reelection bid, which ultimately went to Ohio Sen. JD Vance. Some have argued that her admission of animal abuse damaged her career and chances of being named VP.  

Noem banned from parts of South Dakota

As her hearings get underway, it’s not clear whether Noem is still banned from some parts of the state she governs. 

What we know:

Noem was cut off from entering a wide swath of tribal lands in South Dakota early last year after making public comments that tribal leaders were catering to drug cartels on their reservations. It’s an allegation tribal leaders have widely denied. 

One tribe in South Dakota, the Flandreau Santee Sioux tribe, lifted its order banning Noem from its territories on Wednesday, just two days before her first Senate committee hearing. 

The tribe, one of the state’s nine tribes, issued a statement Wednesday dissolving its order and lending its support to her nomination as secretary of the Department of Homeland Security.

What we don't know:

The Flandreau Santee Sioux tribe was not alone in the formal banishment of Noem last year, but it’s unclear whether other tribes have lifted their bans on Noem. The Associated Press left messages Thursday with the other eight tribes in the state. 

The Source: This report includes information from the Associated Press, FOX News and previous LiveNow from FOX reporting. FOX's Daniel Miller contributed. 

PoliticsU.S. Border SecurityDonald J. Trump