Conversation

Little more than a year ago,
Kristi Noem’s political prospects appeared to be in freefall.

The then South Dakota governor was criss-crossing the country on an ill-fated book tour,
widely seen, at least initially, as an audition to be Donald Trump’s running mate.
Instead, Noem found herself on the defensive – a position Trump never likes to be in – after revealing in her memoir that she had shot the family’s “untrainable” hunting dog,
a 14-month-old wirehair pointer named Cricket.

Even in Trumpworld, where controversy can be a form of currency,
the disclosure shocked.
In the weeks that followed, she faded from contention and the breathless veepstakes rumor mill moved on.
By the time Trump selected JD Vance as his vice-presidential nominee, Noem’s path forward on the national stage was unclear.

But a year is a lifetime in politics, the saying goes.
It is even more true today, in Trump’s warp-speed Washington,
where Noem now leads the sprawling department at the heart of the president’s hardline vision to carry out the largest deportation campaign in American history.

Since assuming office as the secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in January,
Noem has played a starring role in the
second Trump administration,

executing the White House’s immigration agenda with fierce loyalty, Trumpian defiance
and a made-for-TV approach that supporters have hailed as a full-throttle push to “Make America Safe Again”

-- and critics have condemned as theatrical posturing with cruel – and possibly unlawful – consequences

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jun/07/kristi-noem-trump-secretary-homeland-security