Noem's full name is Kristi Lynn Arnold Noem and she was born in 1971 in Watertown, in east central South Dakota. The city is in Codington County about 187 miles northeast of the state's capital Pierre. The new Secretary of Homeland Security is married to Bryon Noem.

The two term South Dakota Gov. was tapped by Trump in November and will be key in enacting the new president's mass deportation plan.

The Senate confirmed Kristi Noem as homeland security secretary on Saturday by a 59-34 vote, putting the former South Dakota governor in charge of a sprawling agency that is essential to national security and President Donald Trump's plans to clamp down on illegal immigration.

Kristi Noem was confirmed Saturday morning as the new U.S. secretary of Homeland Security by a 59-34 vote. The 53-year-old former governor of South Dakota becomes the eighth person to lead the agency,

South Dakota Republican Gov. Kristi Noem will be the nation’s next secretary of the Department of Homeland Security after the U.S. Senate confirmed her nomination Saturday. The 53-year-old Noem, a former congresswoman,

The Senate confirmed Gov. Kristi Noem (R-SD) as the next Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security on Sunday during a weekend vote, as Republicans overcame efforts by Democrats to delay the process by using procedural hurdles.

Kristi Noem to be America's new Secretary of Homeland Security ... Noem served in the state's legislature for years. She was later elected to serve as The Mount Rushmore State's sole member ...

The Senate voted 59 to 34 to confirm Ms. Noem, the governor of South Dakota, as the new head of the Homeland Security Department.

The Senate voted on Saturday to confirm Kristi Noem as homeland security secretary, putting a former South Dakota governor in charge of the department at the heart of President Trump’s agenda to crack down on immigration. The vote was 59 to 34, and she was sworn-in on Saturday afternoon by the Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.

The job has proved fiendishly difficult in the Trump era. During his first term, the president cycled through no fewer than six Homeland Security chiefs.

The Senate on Saturday confirmed Kristi Noem to lead the Department of Homeland Security at a time when border security and illegal immigration are top priorities.

The US Senate on Saturday confirmed South Dakota governor Kristi Noem to lead the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), a key agency in President Donald Trump's push to clamp down on illegal immigration.