Kristi Noem confirmed as secretary of homeland security


The U.S. Senate voted to confirm Kristi Noem as secretary of homeland security on Jan. 25, 2025. The Senate voted 59-34 in favor of her nomination with 23 Republicans and 7 Democrats voting in favor. This was the fourth member of President Donald Trump’s (R) Cabinet confirmed in his second presidential term. 

Trump announced on November 12, 2024, that he had selected Noem as his nominee for secretary of homeland security. Trump said of Noem’s nomination, “Kristi has been very strong on Border Security. She was the first Governor to send National Guard Soldiers to help Texas fight the Biden Border Crisis, and they were sent a total of eight times. She will work closely with ‘Border Czar’ Tom Homan to secure the Border, and will guarantee that our American Homeland is secure from our adversaries.” The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee held a confirmation hearing for Noem on January 17, 2025, and voted 13-2 to advance her nomination.

Noem formerly served as the governor of South Dakota. She was first elected in 2018 and re-elected in 2022. Noem represented South Dakota’s at-large congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2011 to 2019. In 2006, Noem won an election to the South Dakota House of Representatives for District 6. She was elected assistant majority leader in her second term.

At the time of Noem’s confirmation, she was the third of the main Cabinet secretaries who had been confirmed by the U.S. Senate. At this point in Trump’s first term, two of the main 15 Cabinet secretaries had been confirmed.

At this point in the Biden administration, two of the main 15 Cabinet secretaries had been confirmed, and at this point in the Obama administration, ten of the main 15 Cabinet secretaries had been confirmed.

A presidential Cabinet is a group of senior federal officials who advise the president on the issues and activities of their respective agencies. The number of officials in a Cabinet can vary across presidential administrations. While not explicitly identified in the Constitution, the Cabinet secretaries are the 15 agency heads who are in the presidential line of succession. The vice president is also part of the Cabinet.

During Trump’s second term, the following offices are also Cabinet-rank positions: White House chief of staff, the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, the director of the Office of Management and Budget, the U.S. trade representative, the director of the Central Intelligence Agency, the director of National Intelligence, the administrator of the Small Business Administration, and the ambassador to the United Nations.