Trump taps Kristi Noem as Homeland Security secretary: report

President-elect Donald Trump is expected to tap South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem as his secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, two sources told CNN.

Noem, a loyal Trump ally once considered a top contender to be his 2024 running mate, would lead the sprawling department in charge of securing the border – one of the president-elect’s main campaign promises. 

No official announcement on the DHS pick was made as of early Tuesday.

Noem, 52, is currently serving her second term as South Dakota governor.

She fell out of contention in the Trump veepstakes when she sparked widespread outrage for admitting in her book published in May that she shot and killed her 14-month-old wirehaired pointer named Cricket after determining that the puppy’s “aggressive personality” made her “untrainable” as a hunting dog.

“I can understand why some people are upset about a 20 year old story of Cricket, one of the working dogs at our ranch, in my upcoming book — No Going Back. The book is filled with many honest stories of my life, good and bad days, challenges, painful decisions, and lessons learned,” Noem wrote on X amid the uproar.

The Department of Homeland Security oversees the US Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement – two key law enforcement agencies that deal with protecting the borders and tackling illegal immigration. 

Also under the DHS’ purview are the US Secret Service and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. 

Noem, if formally selected to lead the DHS, would be working with the 78-year-old president-elect’s new “border czar” Tom Homan and Stephen Miller, who will serve as White House deputy of staff for policy, with an advisory role on immigration plans.

Homan, Trump’s former acting Immigration and Customs Enforcement director in his first White House term, has been tasked with securing the border and carrying out the deportation of millions of migrants who are in the US illegally.

Miller is one of the leading voices behind Trump’s restrictive immigration plans and served as a senior adviser on the topic in the 45th president’s administration.