Washington — President-elect Donald Trump is expected to appoint South Dakota governor. Kristi Noem as his nominee for secretary of homeland security, two sources familiar with the transition discussions confirmed to CBS News.

CNN first reported the development, which comes as Trump makes a slew of nomination announcements for top roles in his new administration. Noem, a Republican governor, was on a list of possible running mates for Trump earlier this year. But then questions arose about her political future she described in her new book a story about killing her dog decades ago, which sparked intense criticism and claims that appeared to be false meeting with Kim Jong-un.

Noem, 52, is serving a second term as governor of Mount Rushmore State, where she gained national attention after refusing to implement a mask mandate policy in the state during the COVID-19 pandemic. When she took office in 2019, she became the first woman to become governor of South Dakota.

The president-elect did that announced a number of nominees and appointments since winning a decisive victory in the 2024 elections last week.

Tom HomanDHS had previously been named secretary of DHS, according to multiple sources familiar with the transition discussions. Trump announced this Homan will serve as ‘border czarin his new administration. Chad Wolf, the former acting DHS secretary under Trump’s first administration, is another name floated by Trump insiders as one of the leading candidates for the DHS secretary position, according to two sources close to the transition.