As Donald Trump’s DHS pick Kristi Noem is on Capitol Hill for her confirmation hearing, DNC Rapid Response Director Alex Floyd released the following statement: 

“Just like Donald Trump, Kristi Noem has spent her career playing politics with Americans’ security. As governor, her failed handling of natural disasters left families devastated, and her support of efforts to put politics ahead of border security shows she’s not serious about solving real issues with our immigration system. With Trump now threatening to use disaster relief as a bargaining chip, it’s clear that an unqualified MAGA loyalist like Noem cannot be trusted to put Americans’ safety and well-being first.”

Kristi Noem’s own constituents are “alarm[ed]” at the idea of her leading FEMA, given her failed record of managing natural disasters. 

Washington Post: “President-elect Donald Trump has picked Noem, a Republican and one of his most ardent supporters, to lead the Department of Homeland Security. If confirmed, she would oversee not only immigration enforcement but an agency that has become increasingly important in a nation battered by frequent fires and floods: the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

“That alarms victims of one of the most serious disasters to affect Noem’s state during her six years as governor. In North Sioux City, whose 3,000 residents live across the Big Sioux River from Iowa, many fault Noem for overseeing a response to the catastrophic June floods that they describe as disorganized, delayed and often simply nonexistent. …

“After spending millions of taxpayer dollars to send South Dakota National Guard soldiers to the Mexico border, Noem did not deploy them to help prepare for the flood or cope with its aftermath. And she waited more than a month to ask President Joe Biden for a disaster declaration, leaving victims without access to federal assistance during a crucial period of recovery and rebuilding. …

“For much of the period before and during the floods, Noem was out of state — first in D.C., where she attended a political conference and sat for an interview on a national television news show, then in Tennessee for a GOP gala.”

As Americans face more natural disasters caused by climate change, Trump appointed Noem – a climate change denier – to lead DHS. 

Reporter: “Do you think the climate is changing?”

Noem: “I think that the science has been varied on it, and it hasn’t been proven to me that what we’re doing is affecting the climate.”

Associated Press: “Noem joins lawsuit challenging social cost of climate change”

South Dakota Public Broadcasting: “The State of South Dakota is leaving millions of federal dollars on the table that could be spent on reducing greenhouse gas emissions. It’s one of four states that won’t access that money funded by the Inflation Reduction Act.”

Noem backed Donald Trump’s efforts to kill bipartisan legislation to secure the border.

Forbes: “‘Terrible Bill’: Kristi Noem Slams Bipartisan Border Deal”

Noem: “It’s a terrible bill that I think President Trump is exactly right, it should not pass.”