A government official has said the newly nominated Homeland Security head Kristi Noem “knows nothing” about the department.
Following his election win on November 5, President-elect Donald Trump has nominated a slew of loyalists for some of the top spots in his incoming administration, including vaccine-sceptic Robert F. Kennedy as health secretary; former Florida Representative Matt Gaetz as attorney general; and the latest addition of South Dakota Governor Noem as the head of Homeland Security.
Elizabeth Neumann, who was assistant Homeland Security secretary in Trump’s first White House tenure, as well as serving in the department under George W. Bush, told CNN host Kaitlan Collins that it is “concerning” that the department doesn’t have the kind of leader it deserves. Newsweek has contacted Noem via the contact form on her website for comment outside of regular working hours.
“It’s a little concerning for the agency itself that you have somebody coming in that really knows nothing about Homeland Security and hasn’t had that much experience actually—I know she’s the governor of a state, but it’s a relatively small state—hasn’t been in office that long,” Neumann said. “So I’m a little concerned for the agency itself that they don’t have the kind of leader that they deserve.”
Neumann also said that Noem has been appointed to be a “figurehead to go on TV” to promote the anti-immigration stance of the incoming administration. Noem has been an outspoken critic of immigration and the southern border under the management of the incumbent Biden-Harris administration.
“Their primary focus is immigration, and you can make a strong argument that the American people voted for that,” Neumann said, caveating that the Department of Homeland Security has “way more missions than immigration.”
Following Trump’s announcement to nominate Noem to the position, she said in a November 15 statement on her website that the border crisis has “driven up crime in communities across the country” due to drugs and human trafficking. She added that it has particularly impacted communities on tribal lands within South Dakota—several of which she has been banned from after she said earlier this year that tribal leaders are “personally benefiting” from cartels.
Noem also said she acknowledges the various responsibilities of Homeland Security, including FEMA and cybersecurity. She added that “everything that I do will be focused on making America SAFE again, and that will make South Dakota safer, as well.”
Earlier this year, Noem was the subject of intense scrutiny after writing in her memoir about killing a family dog she called “untrainable” and “dangerous.” The backlash has been credited with dampening her chances of becoming Trump’s vice president pick, which eventually went to JD Vance.
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