Confirmed as United States Secretary of Homeland Security in 2025, these are the individuals shaping the decisions that undermine democracy.
Summary: South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem has a history of making rabidly anti-immigrant statements and has advocated for anti-LGBTQ+ policies. She regularly claims the border is a “warzone” and that immigration from Mexico is an “invasion,” language directly tied to that of the white nationalist and antisemitic “Great Replacement” conspiracy theory. She supported Trump’s “Muslim ban” during his first administration, saying that the U.S. should halt the acceptance of refugees from “terrorist-controlled regions.” In 2024, she sent the South Dakota National Guard to the border, and after two migrants died in an area where Texas Governor Greg Abbott had placed barbed wire, Noem stated that she would “drive him more razor wire from South Dakota ” She’s also created friction with Native American tribes in her state by claiming they work with drug cartels. Noem is also close to anti-LGBTQ+ organizations such as Moms for Liberty.
In Her Own Words:
“He’s remaking this country—We will be Europe within a year or two if we allow President Biden to continue this invasion of our country.”
–Fox News interview, January 25, 2024
“The invasion is coming over our southern border.”
–Address, South Dakota Legislative Joint Session, January 31, 2024
“Make no mistake, the cartels have a presence on several of South Dakota’s tribal reservations … They have been successful in recruiting tribal members to join their criminal activity.”
–Address, South Dakota Legislative Joint Session, January 31, 2024
“We’ve got some tribal leaders that I believe are personally benefiting from the cartels being there, and that’s why they attack me every day.”
–Address, South Dakota Legislative Joint Session, January 31, 2024
“It’s a commitment, but it’s a commitment for our national security interests. And we need to have a secure border, know who is here, and then recognize that many of these dangerous individuals and, and people who aren’t here to make America better are on programs…When they came into our country, let’s all remember the first thing they did was break the law. They came here illegally and by Vice President Harris allowing that to happen when she’s in charge of the border, she was breaking federal law as well. And the American taxpayers and the American citizens just held her accountable.”
-Fox News, August 11, 2024
“I’ve never supported gay marriage as far as the legality of it in our state.”
-July 28, 2022
“South Dakota won’t be taking any illegal immigrants that the Biden Administration wants to relocate. My message to illegal immigrants… call me when you’re an American.”
-Twitter, April 14, 2021
“I share the President’s concerns about our ability to screen refugees—especially those from terrorist hotbed areas. I support putting a temporary pause on accepting refugees from terrorist-held areas [meaning Trump’s Muslim ban]—at least until the administration can certify that asylum-seekers do not present a safety threat to the U.S.”
-Statement, January 29, 2017
Longtime MAGA Activism
Noem’s appeal to Trump is clear as her anti-immigrant and anti-LGBTQ+ positions align with the MAGA agenda. She has repeatedly backed harsh policies for the border, made anti-immigrant statements, advocated for stringent abortion bans and anti-LGBTQ+ policies, and aligned herself with anti-LGBTQ+ groups like Moms for Liberty, who are major Trump supporters.
- In 2024, Noem claimed that drug cartels were using Native American reservations in South Dakota for their operations, and had infiltrated the tribes themselves, claiming that there were tribal leaders who were “personally benefiting from the cartels being there.”
- Noem is particularly close to the book-banning and anti-LGBTQ+ group Moms for Liberty. On April 27, 2023, Noem signed their “parent pledge.”
- In February 2023, Noem signed into law the “Help Not Harm” bill, H.B. 1080, which prohibited both surgical and non-surgical gender-affirming treatments for transgender youth.
- In 2022, the Republican-dominated South Dakota House of Representatives defeated a bill proposed by Noem intended to “put prayer back in schools.”
- In 2022, after a strict abortion ban came into effect following the overturning of Roe v. Wade, she defended a ban without exceptions for rape or incest.
- In 2021, when the Biden administration struggled to handle the influx of unaccompanied minors at the southern border and established an emergency migrant facility in her state, she tweeted that South Dakota would “not be taking any illegal immigrants,” and that they should “call me when you’re an American.”
- Noem, who once said that God called her to run for Congress, signed Senate Bill 124 in March 2021, which, according to Human Rights Watch, is a “religious refusal bill that could grant a license to discriminate against LGBTQ people across a wide range of goods and services in South Dakota.”
- In 2015, she said she disagreed with the Obergefell v. Hodges decision that legalized gay marriage, and as late as 2022, mentioned that she has “never supported gay marriage” and that her “faith has a lot to do with that.”
- In 2015, Noem co-sponsored a bill to amend the 14th Amendment to define human life and personhood as beginning at fertilization, federally banning abortion from the moment of fertilization. She also voted for a bill to ban abortion after 20 weeks of pregnancy.
Rise in Politics
Noem grew up in rural Hamlin County, South Dakota, on a ranch. She served in that state’s House of Representatives from 2007 to 2010, where she sponsored bills to increase gun rights and reduce taxes. In 2010, she won a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, where she served until 2018 after announcing plans to run for governor. She received the endorsement of Trump during this campaign. While in Congress, Noem was already on board with the far-right agenda. She was pro-oil, anti-Obamacare, anti-abortion, pro-tax cuts and vehemently opposed much of the Obama administration’s policies.
She was a strong supporter of Trump and his policies in his first term. She backed the Muslim ban and Trump’s tax cuts. After winning the 2018 gubernatorial election, Noem began to put in place a far-right agenda. This included attacks on the rights of trans people, signing into law provisions preventing trans women from participating in women’s sports and banning both surgical and non-surgical gender-affirming treatments for transgender youth. She also signed into law a bill allowing for the possibility of businesses to discriminate against LGBTQ+ people on the basis of religion.
Noem deployed the South Dakota National Guard to the U.S.-Mexico border in 2024 and rhetorically blamed immigrants and members of Native American tribes in her state for problems of drugs and crime. She supported Trump’s “Muslim Ban,” stating that the U.S. should stop accepting asylum requests from ”terrorist-controlled regions,” and refused to accept any immigrants when the Biden administration struggled to handle the influx of unaccompanied minors from the border.
She fostered strong ties with the anti-LGBTQ+ group Moms for Liberty, and signed a pledge supporting their organization’s goals. She also spoke at a far-right conference in Paris which was attended by other far-right political leaders from across Europe, including a close advisor to authoritarian Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, Noem became known as one of the governors that refused to issue a state-wide mask mandate. In 2024, there was speculation that she was on the short-list to be on the presidential ticket alongside Trump, however, a scandal involving an anecdote from her 2024 book No Going Back involving her shooting her own dog may have dashed those hopes.
A “Border Czar” for a Borderless State
While Governor of South Dakota, a state that has no international borders, Noem has opportunistically positioned herself as a “defender of the border.” She sent the South Dakota National Guard to the Texas-Mexico border during the Biden presidency and took personal trips there while governor.
When Texas Governor Greg Abbott came into conflict with the federal government over his border policies, a responsibility delegated to the federal government, and became engaged in a scandal after migrants died trying to cross the Rio Grande river in an area where barbed wire had been placed, Noem supported Abbott, stating that she would “drive him more razor wire from South Dakota if I have to for him to do his job.”
Noem has claimed that cartels are using Native American reservations in South Dakota for their operations, and had infiltrated the tribes themselves, claiming that there were tribal leaders who were “personally benefiting from the cartels being there.” For this, she was banned by all nine tribes in the state, which means that she’s unable to enter around 12 percent of the state she governs.
Meanwhile, Noem’s rhetoric on immigrants has become particularly inflammatory. She regularly refers to immigration in militaristic terms, stating that the U.S. southern border is a “warzone” and that immigration from Mexico is an “invasion,” language directly tied to that of the white nationalist and antisemitic “great replacement” conspiracy theory.
She has stated that President Biden has been “remaking this country” and that, “We will be Europe within a year or two if we allow President Biden to continue this invasion of our country.”
Opposition to LGBTQ+ Rights
Noem is particularly close to the anti-LGBTQ+ Moms for Liberty, an organization that advocates against school curricula that mentions LGBTQ+ rights, race and ethnicity, critical race theory, and issues related to discrimination. Multiple chapters of Moms for Liberty have also campaigned to ban books that address gender and sexuality from school libraries. On April 27, 2023, Noem signed their “parent pledge” which sought to “advance policies that strengthen parental involvement and decision-making.”
In February 2023, Noem signed into law South Dakota’s “Help Not Harm” bill, which prohibited both surgical and non-surgical gender-affirming treatments for transgender youth. Notably, three of the bill’s co-sponsors in the South Dakota Senate and House of Representatives, state Sen. Julie Frye-Mueller, Rep. Aaron Alyward, and Rep. John Sjaarda, also signed Moms for Liberty’s pledge. Noem was one of the few governors in the country to receive an endorsement from Moms for Liberty prior to her re-election in 2022.
Noem also has a long history of going after trans people’s rights. In 2021, she created a coalition called “Defend Title IX” in order to prevent trans women from participating in women’s sports, alongside former Senate candidate Herschel Walker of Georgia, and signed two executive orders preventing trans girls from participating in women’s sports in public high schools and colleges in the state.
These are not the only LGBTQ+ rights that Noem is opposed to. In 2015, she went on the record saying that she disagreed with the Obergefell v. Hodges decision, and as late as 2022, mentioned that she has “never supported gay marriage” and that “a lot of my faith has to do with that.”
Noem, who once said that God called her to run for Congress, signed Senate Bill 124 in March 2021, which, according to Human Rights Watch, is a “religious refusal bill that could grant a license to discriminate against LGBTQ people across a wide range of goods and services in South Dakota.”
In 2022, the Republican-dominated South Dakota House of Representatives defeated a bill proposed by Noem intended to “put prayer back in schools.”
A Far-Right Conference in Paris
In an unusual move for an American governor, Noem gave the closing speech at the November 2023 Worldwide Freedom Initiative in Paris, France, an event that brought together leaders of far-right parties from France, the United States, Hungary, and other countries.
Prominent guests to this event included the French far-right leader of Reconquête (Reconquest), Éric Zemmour, a principal French advocate for the white supremacist “Great Replacement” conspiracy theory. Other participants to the conference included Quisha King from Moms for Liberty, supporters of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, Rodrigo Ballester, Balázs Orbán, and István Kiss, as well as other far-right leaders sympathetic to conspiracy theories related to the “Great Replacement,” the “deep state,” and election denialism.
Solomon Yue, the CEO of Republicans Overseas, who organized the event, is known for pushing Oregon Republicans to adopt a resolution claiming the January 6th Capitol insurrection was a “false flag” event intended to “discredit President Trump.”.
Noem’s speech at the conference was given as a part of a panel that included both Orbán and Zemmour.
Other Scandals
During the 2024 presidential election, Noem was long believed to be on the short list of Donald Trump’s vice-president choices. These dreams were cut short after her anecdote about shooting her family dog from her book No Going Back hit the media cycle. She has also been criticized for allegedly lying about meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron and North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un.
