Noem Confirmed as DHS Head to Move Trump’s Immigration Plans

(Bloomberg) -- The US Senate confirmed Kristi Noem as secretary of Homeland Security, mobilizing the sprawling agency to carry out President Donald Trump’s expansive immigration crackdown.

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Noem’s nomination was approved 59-34 on an unusual Saturday session of the Senate. The vote clears the way for her to lead a 260,000-person department that will have a key role in Trump’s border security and immigration enforcement agenda. Seven Democrats voted for the Republican nominee.

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The South Dakota governor and former congresswoman, the second key member of Trump’s national security team to win confirmation, was sworn in later Saturday. Pete Hegseth was confirmed as defense secretary on Friday with Vice President JD Vance casting the tie-breaking vote.

The Senate also passed a procedural motion setting up a confirmation vote on Monday for Scott Bessent, Trump’s pick for Treasury secretary.

Noem gained notoriety after she revealed in a memoir that she shot and killed her 14-month-old dog in a gravel pit because it was chasing livestock.

DHS, created after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the US, has evolved to oversee immigration, customs, disaster response and cybersecurity threats. That includes managing the resources and logistics to potentially deport millions of undocumented immigrants as directed in Trump’s executive orders.

Trump mused aloud Friday in North Carolina about eliminating or cutting back on the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which would fall under Noem’s purview.

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One of Trump’s initial executive orders declared a national emergency at the US-Mexico border and allowed the executive branch to send armed forces to help DHS establish “complete operational control of the southern border.” He also moved to finish construction of the southern border wall that he often touted during his first term.

Trump is also seeking to end automatic citizenship for children born in the US whose parents are in the country unlawfully or on temporary legal stays, including work visas. A federal judge temporarily blocked Trump’s order on Thursday.

Noem said during her Senate confirmation hearing that she asked for the DHS post “because I knew it was the president’s number one priority.”

As part of her agenda, she signaled she’d shrink the government’s cybersecurity organization, citing flaws with its priorities.

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency has “gotten far off mission, using their resources in ways that were never intended” by promoting public awareness of misinformation and disinformation in recent elections, she said.

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Since Trump took office for his second term, DHS has also given expanded authority to several Justice Department agencies to investigate and apprehend undocumented migrants, saying it wants to expedite Trump’s plan for “mass deportations.”

Democratic-led states and civil rights groups have filed lawsuits challenging some of Trump’s immigration-related executive orders.

--With assistance from Josh Wingrove.

(Updates third paragraph to note that Noem has been sworn in.)

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