Gov. Kristi Noem of South Dakota, President-elect Donald J. Trump’s pick to run the Homeland Security Department, will face questions from senators on Friday about an agency that will be critical to fulfilling the new administration’s promises to quickly crack down on immigration.
While Ms. Noem, South Dakota’s governor since 2019, has largely avoided the scrutiny surrounding some of Mr. Trump’s other nominees, the agency she seeks to oversee runs the nation’s immigration system, including law enforcement at the southern border. The department also includes other critical agencies like the Secret Service, the Coast Guard and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
She will face lawmakers on the Senate Homeland Security Committee during a time of shifting perceptions of immigration. Mr. Trump’s vows to aggressively police the border and carry out mass deportations helped propel him to victory in November, and some Democrats have signaled support of increased enforcement.
Ms. Noem, 53, favors the immigration restrictions that Mr. Trump campaigned on. She regularly criticized the Biden administration’s policies and as governor even sent the state’s National Guard to the southern border.
“As you know, I’ve taken a stand against this invasion,” she said in a speech last week. “We’ve deployed our South Dakota National Guard to our southern border eight times. That includes five state deployments to support Texas’ work to stop the flow of illegal aliens.”
Mr. Trump has said Ms. Noem is “very strong on border security,” but history suggests it may be challenging to keep him satisfied: During his first term, Mr. Trump had six leaders of the department.
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