Kristi Noem facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Kristi Noem
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Noem in 2025
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| 8th United States Secretary of Homeland Security | |
| Assumed office January 25, 2025 |
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| President | Donald Trump |
| Deputy | MaryAnn Tierney (acting) Benjamine Huffman (acting) |
| Preceded by | Alejandro Mayorkas |
| 33rd Governor of South Dakota | |
| In office January 5, 2019 – January 25, 2025 |
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| Lieutenant | Larry Rhoden |
| Preceded by | Dennis Daugaard |
| Succeeded by | Larry Rhoden |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from South Dakota's at-large district |
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| In office January 3, 2011 – January 3, 2019 |
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| Preceded by | Stephanie Herseth Sandlin |
| Succeeded by | Dusty Johnson |
| Member of the South Dakota House of Representatives from the 6th district |
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| In office January 9, 2007 – January 3, 2011 |
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| Preceded by | Art Fryslie |
| Succeeded by | Burt Tulson |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Kristi Lynn Arnold
November 30, 1971 Watertown, South Dakota, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse |
Bryon Noem
(m. 1992) |
| Children | 3 |
| Education | South Dakota State University (BA) |
| Signature |  |
Kristi Lynn Arnold Noem ( nohm; née Arnold; born November 30, 1971) is an American politician serving as the 8th U.S. Secretary of homeland security since 2025 in the second cabinet of President Trump.
Noem served from 2019 to 2025 as the 33rd governor of South Dakota, resigning after being confirmed as Secretary of Homeland Security. A member of the Republican Party, she was the U.S. representative for South Dakota's at-large congressional district from 2011 to 2019 and a member of the South Dakota House of Representatives for the 6th district from 2007 to 2011.
Noem became the first female governor of South Dakota when she was elected in 2018. During that election, President Donald Trump endorsed her. As governor, Noem rose to national prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic over her refusal to issue a statewide mandate to wear face masks, instead advocating for voluntary measures. South Dakota saw a drastic increase in COVID cases after the 2020 Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, in which Noem participated.
Noem is also a farmer and rancher. In 2022, she published her first autobiography, Not My First Rodeo: Lessons from the Heartland. Her second, No Going Back, was published in 2024.
Contents
Early life and education
Noem was born Kristi Lynn Arnold to Ron and Corinne Arnold on November 30, 1971, in Watertown, South Dakota, and raised with her siblings on the family ranch and farm in rural Hamlin County. She has Norwegian ancestry. In 1990, Noem graduated from Hamlin High School and was crowned South Dakota Snow Queen. Her father was killed in a farm machinery accident in 1994.
Noem attended Northern State University from 1990 to 1994, but did not graduate. Her daughter, Kassidy, was born on April 21, 1994. Noem left college early to run the family farm. She added a hunting lodge and restaurant to the family property. Her siblings also moved back to help expand the businesses.
Noem subsequently took classes at the Watertown campus of Mount Marty College and at South Dakota State University, and online classes from the University of South Dakota. She obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree with a major in political science from South Dakota State University in 2012 while serving as a U.S. Representative. The Washington Post dubbed her Capitol Hill's "most powerful intern" for receiving college intern credits from her position as a member of Congress.
South Dakota House of Representatives (2007–2011)
In 2006, Noem won a seat as a Republican in the South Dakota House of Representatives, representing the 6th district, comprising parts of Beadle, Clark, Codington, Hamlin, and Kingsbury counties. In 2006, she won with 39% of the vote. In 2008, she was reelected with 41% of the vote.
Noem served for four years, from 2007 to 2010. She was an assistant majority leader during her second term. During her tenure, Noem was the prime sponsor of 11 bills that became law, including several property tax reforms and two bills to increase gun rights in South Dakota. In 2009, she served as vice chair of the Agriculture Land Assessment Advisory Task Force. Senator Larry Rhoden chaired the task force, and later served as her lieutenant governor. During her tenure, she joined the Civil Air Patrol as a "state legislative member".
U.S. House of Representatives (2011–2019)
Elections
2010
In 2010, Noem ran for South Dakota's at-large seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. She won the Republican primary with a plurality of 42 percent of the vote against South Dakota Secretary of State Chris Nelson and State Representative Blake Curd. Her primary opponents endorsed her in the general election.
Noem's opponent, incumbent Democratic U.S. Congresswoman Stephanie Herseth Sandlin, emphasized her own record of independence from the Democratic caucus, including her votes against health care reform, the Wall Street bailouts, and the cap-and-trade energy bill. In response, Noem repeatedly highlighted Herseth Sandlin's vote for Nancy Pelosi as Speaker of the House. During the 2010 election cycle, Noem outraised Herseth Sandlin, $2.3 million to $2.1 million. Noem defeated Herseth Sandlin, 48 to 46 percent.
2012
Noem was reelected to a second term, defeating Democrat Matthew Varilek, 57–43 percent.
2014
Noem was reelected to a third term, defeating Democrat Corinna Robinson, 67–33 percent.
2016
Noem was reelected to a fourth term, defeating Democrat Paula Hawks, 64–36 percent.
Tenure
The 2011 House Republican 87-member freshman class elected Noem as liaison to the House Republican leadership, making her the second woman member of the House GOP leadership. According to The Hill, her role was to push the leadership to make significant cuts to federal government spending and to help Speaker John Boehner manage the expectations of the freshman class. In March 2011, Republican Representative Pete Sessions of Texas named Noem one of the 12 regional directors for the National Republican Congressional Committee during the 2012 election campaign.
On March 8, 2011, she announced the formation of a leadership political action committee, KRISTI PAC. Former South Dakota Lieutenant Governor Steve Kirby is its treasurer. Noem was among the top freshman Republicans in PAC fundraising in the first quarter of 2011, raising $169,000 from PACs.
Energy and environment
Noem denies the scientific consensus on climate change. In 2022 she said she believes "the science has been varied on it, and it hasn't been proven to me that what we're doing is affecting the climate."
Noem has said that the U.S. needs an "all-of-the-above energy approach" that includes renewables like wind and ethanol while still realizing the need for a "balanced energy mix" that ends American dependence on foreign oil.
Noem supported the Keystone XL Pipeline and supports offshore oil drilling. She co-sponsored three bills that she argued would reduce American dependence on foreign oil by ending the 2010 United States deepwater drilling moratorium in the Gulf of Mexico and reopening sales on oil leases in the Gulf and off the coast of Virginia. In 2011, she sponsored a measure to block Environmental Protection Agency funding for tighter air pollution standards for coarse particulates.
Noem opposed a bill introduced by South Dakota Senator Tim Johnson that would designate over 48,000 acres (190 km2) of the Buffalo Gap National Grassland as protected wilderness. She supports the current designation of the land as a national grassland. She said the land is already managed as roadless areas similar to wilderness and argued that changing the land's designation to wilderness would further limit leaseholder access to the land and imperil grazing rights.
Foreign affairs
From 2013 to 2015, Noem served on the House Armed Services Committee, where she worked on the 2014 National Defense Authorization Act. Her appointment to the committee was seen as a benefit to South Dakota's Ellsworth Air Force Base. In March 2011, Noem was critical of President Barack Obama's approach to the NATO-led military intervention in the 2011 Libyan civil war, calling on him to provide more information about the U.S.'s role in the conflict, and characterizing his statements as vague and ambiguous.
Health care
Noem opposes the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) and has voted to repeal it. Having unsuccessfully sought to repeal it, she sought to defund it while retaining measures such as the Indian Health Care Improvement Act, the provision allowing parents to keep their children on their health insurance plan into their 20s, and the high-risk pools. Noem wanted to add such provisions to federal law as limits on medical malpractice lawsuits and allowing patients to buy health insurance plans from other states. She supported cuts to Medicaid funding proposed by Republican Budget Committee chairman Paul Ryan. A study found that this action would reduce benefits for South Dakota Medicaid recipients by 55 percent.
Immigrants and refugees
Noem supported President Donald Trump's 2017 Executive Order 13769, that suspended the U.S. refugee program for 120 days and banned all travel to the U.S. by nationals of seven Muslim-majority countries for 90 days. She said she supported a temporary ban on accepting refugees from "terrorist-held" areas, but "did not address whether she supports other aspects of the order, which led to the detention of legal U.S. residents such as green-card holders, and people with dual citizenship as they reentered the country" in the aftermath of the order's issuance.
In 2019, Noem consented to South Dakota's participation in the U.S. Refugee Resettlement Program following a Trump executive order that allowed state and local governments to opt out.
Taxes
In 2017, Noem was on the conference committee that negotiated the passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which she touted as giving the average South Dakota family a $1,200 tax cut.
In 2018, Noem was reported to have "pitched the idea to members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus" to attach her online sales tax bill to the government funding package as part of an omnibus. A court case under consideration in the South Dakota Supreme Court involved requiring "certain out-of-state retailers to collect its sales taxes." Noem said that South Dakota businesses (and by extension businesses nationwide) "could be forced to comply with 1,000 different tax structures nationwide without the tools necessary to do so", adding that her legislation "provides a necessary fix."
Noem has called the budget deficit one of the most important issues facing Congress. She cosponsored H. J. Res. 2, which would require that total spending for any fiscal year not exceed total receipts. She cited the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Veterans Affairs, Medicaid, high-speed rail projects, cap-and-trade technical assistance, and subsidies for the Washington Metro rapid transit system as examples of federal programs where she would like to see cuts.
In 2011, Noem indicated that she would vote to raise the federal debt ceiling, but only if "tied to budget reforms that change the way we spend our dollars and how Washington, D.C., does business. It won’t just be a one-time spending cut." She ultimately voted for S. 365, The Budget Control Act of 2011, which allowed Obama to raise the debt ceiling in exchange for spending cuts to be decided by a bipartisan committee. She also said she wanted to eliminate the estate tax, lower the corporate tax rate, and simplify the tax code. She said she would not raise taxes to balance the budget.
Committee assignments
- Committee on Ways and Means
- Subcommittee on Human Resources
- Subcommittee on Select Revenue Measures
Caucus memberships
- Republican Study Committee
- Congressional Cement Caucus
- Congressional Arts Caucus
- Afterschool Caucuses
- Congressional Western Caucus
Governor of South Dakota (2019–2025)
Elections
2018
On November 14, 2016, Noem announced that she would run for governor of South Dakota in 2018 rather than seek reelection to Congress. She defeated South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley in the June 5 Republican primary, 56 to 44 percent, and Democratic nominee Billie Sutton in the general election, 51.0 to 47.6 percent.
2022
On November 12, 2021, Noem announced that she was running for reelection as governor. Five days later, State Representative Steven Haugaard, a Republican, announced that he was running for governor against Noem. On February 1, 2022, House Democratic Minority Leader Jamie Smith announced he was seeking the Democratic nomination for governor.
In the Republican primary in June, Noem defeated Haugaard, 76.4% to 23.6%. In the general election, she defeated Smith, 62% to 35%. Despite predictions of a competitive race, Noem flipped 17 counties that had previously voted Democratic and set a record for the most votes received by a candidate for governor in South Dakota.
Tenure
Noem was sworn in as governor of South Dakota on January 5, 2019, the first woman in that office in the state.
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Anti-protest legislation
In response to protests against the Keystone Pipeline, Noem's office collaborated with the energy company TransCanada Corporation to develop anti-protest legislation, which Noem signed into law in March 2019. The law created a fund to cover the costs of policing pipeline protests. Another law was passed to raise revenue for the fund by creating civil penalties for advising, directing, or encouraging participation in rioting. The Pine Ridge Indian Reservation banned Noem from their grounds as a result. The Indigenous Environmental Network, Sierra Club, and other groups challenged the laws in suits, arguing that the laws violated First Amendment rights by incentivizing the state to sue protesters. In 2020, after a federal court struck down sections of the legislation as unconstitutional, Noem brought additional legislation to repeal sections of the previous bill and clarify the definition of "incitement to riot".
China
Noem has called China "an enemy" of the United States. In December 2022, she issued an executive order banning TikTok from state-owned devices, saying the "Chinese Communist Party uses information that it gathers on TikTok to manipulate the American people, and they gather data off the devices that access the platform". In May 2023, she signed an executive order prohibiting the downloading or use of any application or visiting of any website owned by the Chinese company Tencent, including apps like WeChat, on state-owned devices. In March 2024, she signed a bill prohibiting the governments of six countries—China, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Russia, and Venezuela—and entities from those countries from buying agricultural land in South Dakota.
Guns
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In 2019, Noem signed a bill into law abolishing South Dakota's permit requirement to carry a concealed handgun. In 2022, she sought to build a gun range in Meade County with government funds, but the legislature rejected it.
At a 2023 NRA forum in Indiana, Noem said that her two-year-old granddaughter had a shotgun, a rifle, and a "little pony named Sparkles".
RV Park in Custer State Park proposal
In 2022, Noem sought to locate a government-paid RV park in Custer State Park. The proposal was met with significant opposition to include government competing with private business and disturbing the pristine nature of the park. The House Agricultural and Natural Resources deferred the bill to the 41st day, effectively killing it, by a vote of 9–3.
School prayer bill
In 2022, Noem sought to have prayer put back in school after mentioning it in a speech in Iowa. On January 21, 2022, the "prayer bill", HB 1015, was defeated in the House Education Committee by a vote of 9–6. An aide to Noem admitted to the committee that no schools were consulted about the proposal.
Staff
On November 19, 2021, Noem named her fifth chief of staff, Mark Miller, to replace outgoing chief of staff Aaron Scheibe. Scheibe served as chief of staff from May 1 to November 19, 2021. Tony Venhuizen preceded Scheibe from March 2, 2020, to April 23, 2021. Josh Shields preceded Venhuizen from October 1, 2019, to January 1, 2020. Herb Jones was Noem's first chief of staff, and served from January 5 to October 1, 2019.
Trade
In February 2019, she said that the Trump administration's trade wars with China and the European Union had devastated South Dakota's economy, particularly the agricultural sector, "by far" the state's largest industry.
Secretary of Homeland Security (2025–present)
Nomination and confirmation
On November 12, 2024, President-elect Trump selected Noem to serve as Secretary of Homeland Security in his second term. The Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs held a confirmation hearing for her on January 17, 2025. The committee advanced her nomination in a 13–2 vote on January 20. On January 25, the Senate confirmed Noem by a vote of 59–34, with seven Democrats voting to confirm.
Tenure
After resigning as governor of South Dakota, Noem was sworn in on January 25, 2025, by Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas as Secretary of Homeland Security, with Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry holding the Bible.
After the 2025 Potomac River mid-air collision, Noem deployed US Coast Guard resources for search and rescue efforts.
One of Noem's first acts in office was to rescind an 18-month extension of temporary protected status for about 600,000 Venezuelans who had fled Nicolás Maduro's authoritarian socialist regime.
Electoral history
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican |  Kristi Noem (Incumbent) |
217,035 | 61.9 | ||
| Democratic | Jamie Smith | 123,148 | 35.1 | ||
| Libertarian | Tracey Quint | 9,983 | 2.8 | ||
| Total votes | 350,166 | 100.0 | |||
| Republican hold | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Kristi Noem (incumbent) |
91,661 | 76.4 | |
| Republican | Steven Haugaard | 28,315 | 23.6 | |
| Total votes | 119,976 | 100.0 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Kristi Noem |
172,912 | 51.0 | |
| Democratic | Billie Sutton | 161,454 | 47.6 | |
| Libertarian | Kurt Evans | 4,848 | 1.4 | |
| Total votes | 339,214 | 100.0 | ||
| Republican hold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Kristi Noem |
57,437 | 56.0 | |
| Republican | Marty Jackley | 45,069 | 44.0 | |
| Total votes | 102,506 | 100.0 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Kristi Noem (Incumbent) |
237,163 | 64.1 | |
| Democratic | Paula Hawks | 132,810 | 35.9 | |
| Total votes | 369,973 | 100.0 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Kristi Noem (Incumbent) |
183,834 | 66.5 | |
| Democratic | Corinna Robinson | 92,485 | 33.5 | |
| Total votes | 276,319 | 100.0 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Kristi Noem (Incumbent) |
207,640 | 57.4 | |
| Democratic | Matt Varilek | 153,789 | 42.6 | |
| Total votes | 361,429 | 100.0 | ||
| Republican hold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Kristi Noem |
153,703 | 48.1 | |
| Democratic | Stephanie Herseth Sandlin (Incumbent) | 146,589 | 45.9 | |
| Independent | B. Thomas Marking | 19,134 | 6.0 | |
| Total votes | 319,426 | 100.0 | ||
| Republican gain from Democratic | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Kristi Noem |
34,527 | 42.1 | |
| Republican | Chris Nelson | 28,380 | 34.6 | |
| Republican | Blake Curd | 19,134 | 23.3 | |
| Total votes | 82,041 | 100.0 | ||
Presidential politics
2020 presidential election
In 2020 the Trump-Pence ticket carried South Dakota, receiving 261,043 votes to 150,471 for the Biden-Harris ticket. Noem was initially designated to be one of Trump's three presidential electors for South Dakota, but later withdrew.
Noem has claimed that the 2020 presidential election, in which Biden defeated Trump, was marred by widespread voter fraud; no evidence supports this claim. On December 8, 2020, Noem tacitly acknowledged the outcome of the election when she referred to a "Biden administration" during her annual state budget address, but even after Biden was inaugurated in January, she still refused to accept that the election was "free and fair".
2024 presidential election
Noem endorsed Trump in the 2024 Republican Party presidential primaries in September 2023, at a rally hosted for him in Rapid City, South Dakota. Trump invited her to appear with him at a March 2024 rally in Vandalia, Ohio.
During Trump's 2024 presidential campaign, commentators suggested that Noem was a potential running mate for Trump. In September 2023, when asked on Newsmax if she would agree to serve as Trump's running mate, Noem responded that she would "in a heartbeat". At the February 2024 CPAC conference, Noem tied with Vivek Ramaswamy as attendees' top choice for Trump's running mate, with each receiving 15% of the vote in a straw poll. Also that month, Trump acknowledged that Noem was one of the names on his shortlist to be his running mate. In March 2024, CNN reported that Noem was one of four people Trump had shown increased interest in selecting as his running mate.
Personal life
She married Bryon Noem in 1992, in Watertown, South Dakota. They have three children. In 2011, when Noem moved to Washington to take her congressional office, her family continued to live on a ranch near Castlewood, South Dakota.
Noem is a Protestant. As of 2018, her family attended a Foursquare Church in Watertown, South Dakota. She is a grandmother.
In August 2024, Noem and her sister were inducted into the Daughters of the American Revolution at the South Dakota State Fair.
See also
In Spanish: Kristi Noem para niños
- List of female governors in the United States
- Women in conservatism in the United States
- Women in the United States House of Representatives
