The Senate voted 59-34 Saturday to confirm South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem as head of the Department of Homeland Security
Why it matters: Noem, a Trump loyalist and immigration hardliner, will play a crucial role in implementing President Trump’s immigration policies, including his plans to carry out mass deportations and shut down the border.
- The role also places Noem in charge of FEMA — a part of DHS— which Trump has proposed eliminating to force states to do more disaster relief independently.
Catch up quick: The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee voted 13-2 Monday in favor of her nomination.
- Noem, 53, was the first governor to deploy state National Guard troops to the U.S.-Mexico border in Texas.
Go deeper: ICE returns to calling immigrants “aliens”
[National Review] The upper chamber voted 59–34 to confirm Noem midday Saturday, followed by a vote to advance Trump’s Treasury secretary nominee, Scott Bessent, for final passage Monday evening.
The vote comes after all Republican senators, joined by eight Democrats, broke a filibuster on the South Dakota governor’s cabinet nomination Friday night. The Democratic senators who voted to end the debate were John Fetterman (Pa.), Tim Kaine (Va.), Andy Kim (N.J.), Elissa Slotkin (Mich.), Raphael Warnock (Ga.), Maggie Hassan (N.H.), Gary Peters (Mich.), and Jeanne Shaheen (N.H.).
Of those eight Democratic senators, Warnock was the only one who did not vote on Saturday. Fifty-two Republicans and seven Democrats backed the nomination.