South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem wrapped up after more than three hours of polite questioning from Democrats and praise from Republicans during her Friday confirmation hearing to be the next secretary of Homeland Security.
In testimony before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, Noem committed to working with President-elect Donald Trump to reinstate the “Remain in Mexico policy,” an initiative from the first Trump administration that required those seeking asylum in the United States to wait in Mexico while their cases are processed.
She also pledged to shut down the Biden administration’s mobile phone application called CBP One, which migrants can use to set up appointments to seek asylum, and end the Cuban Haitian Nicaragua Venezuela parole program. Both are initiatives immigration hardliners see are too permissive.
Noem, a former Republican member of Congress, was tapped for this role in her capacity as a Trump loyalist and ardent supporter of the incoming president’s plans to pursue mass deportations of undocumented immigrants and invest heavily in beefed up border security measures.
“President Trump was elected with a clear mandate. He needs to achieve this mission because two-thirds of Americans support his immigration and border policies, including the majority of Hispanic Americans,” Noem said in her opening remarks.
Democrats had questions for her Friday about how she’d run the agency, primarily from those who tend to be more moderate on immigration issues like Sens. Elissa Slotkin of Michigan and Ruben Gallego of Arizona. Gallego asked Noem specifically how she planned to work with Indian tribes near the U.S.-Mexico border whose lives might be disrupted by border wall construction.
Unlike other confirmation hearings on Capitol Hill that occurred throughout the week, there were no disruptors or protestors in the room during Noem’s hearing. The committee is expected to vote on Noem’s nomination Monday, clearing the way for her to be confirmed on the Senate floor in the days following Trump’s impending inauguration.
