(Ben Sellers, Headline USA) All terrorists get ready to report to the gravel pit.
South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem became the latest puzzle piece fit into President-elect Donald Trump’s rapidly developing Cabinet on Tuesday after being tapped for the lead role in the Homeland Security Department, CNN reported.
The position, first created after the 9/11 attacks to safeguard against terrorism, has evolved into the main overseer of illegal immigration, which is one of Trump’s leading priorities with a planned deportation program.
Noem will work closely with Tom Homan, the former acting chief of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, whom Trump named Monday as his “border czar,” replacing the role that Vice President Kamala Harris refused to fill during the Biden administration.
A staunch Trump ally, Noem fell out of the vice-presidential sweepstakes following a quasi-scandal after a section of her memoir acknowledged her killing of a 14-month-old hunting dog, execution style, because its behavior could not be suitably reformed.
Noem, who grew up on a large farm, was nonetheless touted as a likely Cabinet selection, with many speculating she might be considered for the Agriculture or Interior department.
Her neighbor to the north—North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum—is now the clear frontrunner for the Interior job.
Noem’s appointment to lead DHS also shifts the calculus on another prominent Trump ally, former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, who was once promised the DHS job but has since been floated as a prospect for several other notable roles—including the U.S. Senate seat to replace Vice President-elect JD Vance in Ohio.
Recent reports indicated that Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine was willing to appoint Ramaswamy to the interim spot if Trump gave his blessing, per the New York Post.
Ramaswamy also has been floated as one of several names being considered to lead the State Department. Others included Ric Grenell, a former diplomat and acting director of national intelligence; Sens. Marco Rubio of Florida and Bill Hagerty of Tennessee, the latter of whom served previously as Trump’s ambassador to Japan; and newly-minted Republican Tulsi Gabbard, a former Democrat presidential candidate and lawmaker from Hawaii who had a major role on the campaign trail for Trump.
Several media outlets, including the New York Times, were reporting that Rubio was the favorite, although the selection had yet to be finalized.
Rubio has considerable experience after having served, most recently, as the ranking minority member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, but he has sometimes been seen as a political lightweight who tacks to the middle on issues where Trump has taken a hardline stance.
The former 2016 GOP primary rival, whom Trump dubbed “Little Marco” due to his diminutive size, may be seen in some ways as an establishment-friendly pick in the same vein as Trump’s previous top diplomat, Mike Pompeo.
Trump may prefer having a political figure who has already been heavily vetted in the role. However, another drawback to selecting Rubio or Hagerty would be the loss of a Senate seat in the GOP’s new four-person majority. While both Florida and Tennessee are considered to be deep-red states, they have had close elections in the recent past.
Trump made a similar blunder in 2017 by naming then-Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions as his attorney general, assuming the state would replace him with another loyalist. Instead, deep-pocketed leftist donors flooded the state to smear Republican candidate Roy Moore and elect Democrat Doug Jones, narrowing the Senate majority to a single vote—which contributed to the defeat of a high-profile effort to repeal the controversial Obamacare legislation.
Another high-profile rumor being floated on Tuesday was the possibility that Kari Lake might be up for consideration in the role of press secretary after media outlets like the Associated Press declared her the loser in the Arizona senatorial campaign late Monday.
Lake has been a staunch Trump loyalist and shown herself to be particularly adept in combative confrontations with the media, having herself been a TV news anchor prior to entering politics.
Lake likely would vie for contention against some of Trump’s top campaign surrogates, such as Karoline Leavitt and Steven Cheung, both of whom also demonstrated a willingness to clash with hostile adversaries in the media.
Other high-profile names being floated for the role included former Fox News host Megyn Kelly, current Fox White House correspondent Peter Doocy, and popular radio host Alex Jones, who jokingly posted last week that he was accepting the offer made by Donald Trump Jr. via social media.
I formally accept the offer to serve as President Trump’s new Press secretary. pic.twitter.com/ej79xwbb9j
— Alex Jones (@RealAlexJones) November 7, 2024
In addition to Jones, actress Roseanne Barr and conservative pundit Tucker Carlson were both being floated as outside options on social media, although it was unlikely to be a role that either would seriously consider.
Trump struggled with the top messaging role early in his first term, with his initial pick, Sean Spicer, proving to be easily flustered by the hostile leftist press.
Sarah Huckabee Sanders found moderate success in the role, but with her own political career in mind—she went on to become the governor of Arkansas, following in the footsteps of her famous father—she was sometimes reluctant to stand fully behind the polarizing Trump.
Her departure paved the way for Stephanie Grisham, the former press secretary for Melania Trump, to step into the role, although she would later go on to betray both the president and first lady, becoming a prominent Trump critic.
Trump finally settled on Kayleigh McEnany, who was credited with doing an exceptional job but under the most adverse of circumstances. She began her tenure early in the COVID-19 pandemic and continued through the turmoil that followed, including the George Floyd race riots, the disputed 2020 election and the Jan. 6, 2021 uprising at the U.S. Capitol.
It is unclear whether McEnany, who now has a large role at Fox News, has been up for consideration to return to the often thankless role as Trump’s first line of defense against the fake news.
Ben Sellers is the editor of Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/realbensellers.
