President-elect Donald Trump's choice for Homeland Security secretary portrayed illegal immigration as an "invasion" and the U.S.-Mexico border as a "war zone" during a U.S. Senate confirmation on Friday where she pledged to back Trump's hard line on immigration.

The department that the South Dakota governor seeks to lead will be critical to fulfilling the incoming administration’s promises to quickly crack down on immigration.

The farmer and small-business owner turned elected official has made headlines for being a possible vice presidential candidate and killing an "untrainable" dog.

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to be Secretary of Homeland Security, speaks with Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee for her confirmation hearing, at the Capitol in Washington, Friday, Jan. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

So far, Kristi Noem appears to have strong backing from GOP senators who will be crucial to her confirmation as head of the Department of Homeland Security.

The first week of confirmation hearings for President-elect Donald Trump's cabinet picks concluded Friday with Department of Homeland Security nominee Kristi Noem.

Noem vowed Friday to immediately halt the controversial mobile app that lets migrants register to enter the US.

Kristi Noem, the firebrand South Dakota governor is set to go before the U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs for her confirmation hearing to be the Secretary of Homeland Security. Noem, the daughter of a farmer, is a former Congresswoman from South Dakota who ran for Governor in 2018.

Gov. Kristi Noem (R-SD) is expected to cruise through the process to confirmation after surviving a fairly quiet hearing that lasted less than three hours.

Kristi Noem testified before lawmakers on Capitol Hill during confirmation hearings for her potential position as Secretary of Homeland Security.

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem’s advancement to the cusp of confirmation as a Trump cabinet secretary probably surprised some people who thought her career ended nine months ago with a notoriously disastrous book release.