Washington, Nov 13 (IANS): US President-elect Donald Trump has selected South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem as his next Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security.
Noem will be tapped to take over the agency as two key immigration hardliners -- Stephen Miller and Tom Homan -- are slated to serve in senior roles, signalling Trump is serious about his promise to crack down on his immigration pledges.
With his selection of Noem, Trump is ensuring a loyalist will head an agency he prioritises and that is key to his domestic agenda.
Noem, who previously was a South Dakota representative, will now be tasked with overseeing a sprawling agency that oversees everything from US Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement to the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the US Secret Service.
Although Noem does not represent a border state, she has a long history of taking hardline positions on immigration.
As a candidate for Congress in 2010, she supported an ultimately unsuccessful attempt by Senate Republicans to thwart an Obama administration lawsuit challenging an Arizona immigration law. She also has called for punishment of Democratic-led "sanctuary cities" that protected undocumented immigrants by not cooperating with federal agencies during Trump's first term.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is responsible for everything from border protection and immigration to disaster response and the US Secret Service.
Noem’s selection is an apparent reward for being one of the most vocal communicators of Trump's immigration policy during the election campaign, often voicing uncompromising rhetoric that echoed his.
Since taking office in 2019, Noem has established herself politically as a Governor in Trump's style and has long sought to curry favour with the President-elect. She was a vociferous opponent of Covid-19 safety measures such as enforced masking and business and church closures.
Trump, in turn, has called Noem a "terrific person," and she was once considered a top potential running mate as he geared up for his 2024 run.