WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump has done that selected South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem at the head of the Department of Homeland Security, one of the largest government agencies that will be integral to his pledge to secure the border and carry out a large-scale deportation operation.

Here are five Things you need to know about Noem:

She is a farmer’s wife

The 52-year-old was born in Watertown, South Dakota, and grew up on a farm and ranch outside the city. Her father died at the age of 49 in a grain warehouse collapse.

“When Dad passed away, it was devastating for our entire family,” she said during a 2022 interview with the Christian Broadcasting Network. “He was my best friend. He was the person I admired the most, the one I cared most about what he thought of me and who had planned my entire life to grow up, work with, and do business with him.

She was involved in a number of family businesses before successfully running for the South Dakota House of Representatives in 2006. In 2010, she won the state House at-large seat and in 2018 she was elected the state’s first female governor. She was re-elected in 2022.

After becoming governor, Noem began working closely with Corey Lewandowski, Trump’s 2016 campaign manager. She then rose to prominence in conservative circles during the pandemic oppose most government regulations to slow the spread of infections. Since then, she has been a regular presence in Trump’s political world and was at one point considered his running mate.

She enjoys pheasant hunting and organizes the annual Governor’s Hunt. And she is an excellent rider.

The dog story

She was vilified this year for a story she told in her book about murder her 14-month-old wire-haired pointer named Cricket.

Cricket was Noem’s hunting dog, but he was rambunctious. Noem took the dog hunting with older dogs in hopes of calming her down.

It didn’t work and on the way home, Noem wrote that when she stopped to talk to a family, Cricket got out of Noem’s truck and attacked and killed some of the family’s chickens. Then “the dog spun around trying to bite me,” she wrote.

“At that moment,” Noem wrote, “I realized I had to put her to sleep.” She led Cricket to a gravel pit and killed her.

Critics lambasted her as she defended Cricket’s murder as an example of her willingness to make tough choices.

She speaks harsh words about immigration

Noem has been a major supporter of Trump, including supporting his tough immigration talk.

“President Trump will first deport the most dangerous illegal aliens – the murderers, rapists and other criminals that Harris and Biden allow into the country. They don’t belong here, and we won’t let them in anymore,” Noem said in a post on X after Trump was elected.

Noem joined other Republican governors in sending troops to Texas to help Operation Lone Star in Texaswho tried to discourage migrants.

Noem’s decision was particularly harshly criticized because she covered most of the deployment costs with a $1 million donation from a Tennessee billionaire who has often donated to Republicans.

Noem described the U.S. border with Mexico as a “war zone” as she sent troops there, saying they would be on the front lines of stopping drug smugglers and human traffickers. But data from the Guard painted a more nuanced picture of their mission.

Difficult relations with tribes

The Oglala Sioux told her in 2019 that she was not welcome on the Pine Ridge Reservation after she led efforts to pass a state law that targeted demonstrations like the one in neighboring North Dakota that plagued the Dakota Access oil pipeline.

“I hereby inform you that you are not welcome to visit our homelands,” Oglala Sioux President Julian Bear Runner said in a letter to Noem. He told Noem that if she ignored the directive, “we will have no choice but to banish you from the reservation.”

The governor has also had a conflict with the Cheyenne River Sioux tribe Fireworks shows on the 4th of July at Mount Rushmore. The tribe has opposed the fireworks displays at a monument they see as a desecration of land forcibly stolen from them decades ago.

Daughter’s real estate appraiser license

In 2020, the South Dakota agency responsible for licensing real estate appraisers denied Noem’s daughter’s application.

Days later, Noem summoned the state employee running the agency, the woman’s direct supervisor and the state secretary of labor to her office to meet with her daughter. Four months later, Noem’s daughter earned the certification.

South Dakota lawmakers later unanimously approved a report that determined the victim was Noem’s daughter received preferential treatment when applying for the permit.

A Associated Press report about Noem’s actions surrounding her daughter’s licensure prompted the investigation. The governor has said her daughter did not receive preferential treatment.

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Associated Press reporter Stephen Groves contributed to this report.