President-elect Donald Trump announced a nomination for one of the big four positions, with Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) selected as our next secretary of state.
Still, Mr. Trump reportedly made another pick late last night: South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem was asked to lead the Department of Homeland Security (via CNN):
President-elect Donald Trump has selected South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem as his next secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, according to two people familiar with the selection.
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, signaling 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 prioritizes and that is key to his domestic agenda.
The department saw an immense amount of turmoil the last time Trump was in office. Then, DHS had five different leaders, only two of whom were Senate-confirmed. The agency has a $60 billion budget and hundreds of thousands of employees.
Let’s see how the vetting process goes. Noem was rumored to be on the shortlist for Trump’s running mate this election cycle but got taken off after controversy arose regarding her book, where she admitted to shooting her dog, ‘Cricket,’ who she claimed was untrainable and had gone on a chicken-killing rampage. I doubt that will derail anything, but you never know what gets discovered.
.@BrookeSingman reports on President-elect Trump’s latest cabinet picks and is expected to tap South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem as DHS Secretary. pic.twitter.com/6bou2JDaqB
— Fox & Friends First (@FoxFriendsFirst) November 12, 2024
Overall, the picks have been pretty solid. Regardless, the DHS needs a makeover and a renewed sense of what they should do on the border: protect it and assist in deporting illegal aliens.
Trump hasn’t announced this on Truth Social, so let’s hope it’s not true. Noem is a lightweight and a completely unserious person, and she is not remotely suited to the most important border security cabinet position in the entire government. https://t.co/84qwujowH1
— Sean Davis (@seanmdav) November 12, 2024
