SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO/AP) — South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem says she immediately accepted President-elect Donald Trump’s appointment to become secretary of the Department of Homeland Security in his upcoming administration.
“I did when he offered it,” Noem said Wednesday. “We had talked about it a couple of times, but absolutely, yeah, I was honored that, and humbled that he chose me for this position.”
Not only did she quickly accept, Noem says she sought and requested this role specifically.
“This is the position that I asked him for,” Noem said. “I wanted to be in a position where I was dealing with one of his number-one priorities.”
Becoming Homeland Security secretary will require her to leave her current position. Noem says her time as South Dakota’s governor has prepared her for her future role.
“Governors interact with FEMA,” Noem said. “We obviously had deployed to the border many times before. We had had several disasters in our state that gave me the experience to know what we could improve in FEMA as well.”
The Federal Emergency Management Agency is just one component of the Department of Homeland Security; Noem would also oversee U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Customs and Border Protection, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Secret Service.
Traditionally, the U.S. Senate confirms a president’s cabinet picks. However, Trump posted on social media that he wants the Senate’s Republican leader to permit recess appointments, which would allow for cabinet nominees to sidestep Senate confirmation. Such an appointment, however, would only be temporary.
