Kristi Noem | |
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![]() Official portrait, 2023 | |
8th United States Secretary of Homeland Security | |
Assumed office January 25, 2025 | |
President | Donald Trump |
Deputy | MaryAnn Tierney (acting) Benjamine Huffman (acting) Troy Edgar (nominee) |
Preceded by | Alejandro Mayorkas |
33rd Governor of South Dakota | |
In office January 5, 2019 – January 25, 2025 | |
Lieutenant | Larry Rhoden |
Preceded by | Dennis Daugaard |
Succeeded by | Larry Rhoden |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from South Dakota's at-large district | |
In office January 3, 2011 – January 3, 2019 | |
Preceded by | Stephanie Herseth Sandlin |
Succeeded by | Dusty Johnson |
Member of the South Dakota House of Representatives from the 6th district | |
In office January 9, 2007 – January 3, 2011 | |
Preceded by | Art Fryslie |
Succeeded by | Burt Tulson |
Personal details | |
Born | Kristi Lynn Arnold November 30, 1971 Watertown, South Dakota, U.S. |
Political party | Republican |
Spouse |
Bryon Noem (m. 1992) |
Children | 3 |
Education | South Dakota State University (BA) |
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U.S. Representative from South Dakota
Governor of South Dakota
U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security
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Kristi Lynn Arnold Noem[1] (/noʊm/ NOHM;[2] née Arnold; born November 30, 1971) is an American politician serving since 2025 as the eighth United States secretary of homeland security.
Noem served from 2019 to 2025 as the 33rd governor of South Dakota, resigning after being confirmed as Secretary of Homeland Security.[3] A member of the Republican Party, she was the U.S. representative for South Dakota's at-large congressional district from 2011 to 2019 and a member of the South Dakota House of Representatives for the 6th district from 2007 to 2011.
Noem became the first female governor of South Dakota when she was elected in 2018. During that election, President Donald Trump endorsed her. As governor, Noem rose to national prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic over her refusal to issue a statewide mandate to wear face masks, instead advocating for voluntary measures. South Dakota saw a drastic increase in COVID cases after the 2020 Sturgis Motorcycle Rally,[4] in which Noem participated.[5]
Noem is also a farmer and a rancher. She published her first autobiography, Not My First Rodeo: Lessons from the Heartland, in 2022. Her second, No Going Back (2024), ignited controversy over her description of killing a young family dog.