Donald Trump has chosen South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem as the next Secretary of Homeland Security, according to CNN.

While the announcement has not yet been officially confirmed, CNN has cited “two people familiar with the selection” to support its claim, although they are not mentioned by name. The Department of Homeland Security has oversight of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), making it critical to President-elect Trump’s twin promises to reduce illegal immigration and protect millions of illegal migrants already in the United States. states to deport.

Noem was first elected governor of South Dakota in 2018 and was re-elected four years later. By early 2024, she was widely seen as one of the favorites to become Trump’s vice presidential running mate. However, her chances plummeted after the publication of excerpts from her 2024 biography No returnin which Noem described shooting her 14-month-old dog Cricket after concluding it was “untrainable.”

In addition to Cricket’s murder, Noem has been involved in a number of other controversies throughout her career, leading her to be banished from the lands of several Native American tribes, accused of fabricating a meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and criticized on Cricket’s murder. after promoting a cosmetic dental procedure in Texas.

Newsweek contacted Governor Noem’s office outside regular business hours on Tuesday via the online inquiry form.

Ban from tribal lands

Noem was banned from visiting the lands of all nine of South Dakota’s official Native American tribes in 2024 after claiming some of them had been infiltrated by drug cartels.

The governor first made the claim before a joint session of the South Dakota Legislature in January 2024, saying, “Make no mistake, the cartels are present on several South Dakota tribal reservations… They have been successful in recruiting tribesmen to join their criminal activities.”

In March, Noem expanded on her claim, noting, “We have a number of tribal leaders who I believe are personally benefiting from the cartels’ presence, and that is why they attack me every day.”

Speaking to The Associated Press, Frank Star Comes Out, president of the Oglala Sioux tribe, said: “Our people are being used for her political gain.”

In a statement sent to CNN in May, Noem said, “I just want to speak the truth about the real challenges facing some parts of Indian Country.”

Shooting cricket

In April 2024, excerpts from Noem’s biography No Turning Back: The Truth About What’s Wrong With Politics and How We Move America Forward were published by the British newspaper The Guardian.

In one excerpt, Noem described shooting Cricket, her 14-month-old puppy, after it attacked a family’s chickens and later “turned around to bite me.”

In response, Noem said, “I realized I had to put her down,” describing Cricket as “untrainable” and adding that she “hated that dog.”

Speaking to Politico, former Republican Speaker of the House of Representatives Newt Gingrich said: “Killing the dog and then writing about it ended the possibility of her being picked as (Trump’s) Vice President .”

During a later Fox News appearance, Noem said, after heavy criticism, that she made the decision to kill Cricket because of concerns about the safety of her children.

She said, “You know, that story was a choice as a mother. The safety of my children versus a dangerous dog that killed livestock and attacked people.”

Other book controversies

Early versions of No return acquired by a number of media organizations before publication, included the claim that Noem had met Kim Jong Un. According to The New York Times, Noem wrote: “I remember meeting with North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un. I’m sure he underestimated me because he had no idea of ​​my experience looking down on little tyrants (I had been a children’s pastor, after all). foreign leaders require determination, preparation and determination.”

After questions were raised about the story, Noem’s spokesman Ian Fury said it should not have been in the book and would be removed before publication.

When asked if she had met Kim Jong Un by CBS News in May, the governor responded: “I’m not going to talk about my specific meetings with world leaders, I’m just not going to do that. This anecdote shouldn’t have been in the book and as soon as it was brought to my attention I made sure it was edited.”

In her book, Noem also claimed that she was “about to meet with French President Emmanuel Macron” but decided to cancel after he made “what I considered a very pro-Hamas and anti-Israel comment to the press ” had made. Noem visited Paris in November 2023 to address the Worldwide Freedom Initiative conference. However, this account was disputed by the Élysée, which said there was no record of a planned meeting between Macron and Noem.

Sued after promotion to cosmetic dentist

In March 2024, Noem was sued by Travelers United, a consumer advocacy group, after she promoted the work of a Texas-based cosmetic dentist, who she said had performed work on her own teeth.

Travelers United said Noem “appears to have begun work as a social media influencer as of March 12, 2024.” It accused the governor of “advertising a product or service without disclosing that she has a financial relationship with that company.”

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