South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem has been chosen by Donald Trump to join his Cabinet as the Secretary of Homeland Security, according to CNN. The governor—whose vice-presidential prospects were reportedly dashed after she admitted to shooting her puppy—will work on Trump's pledge to address the issues at the southern border.
Noem will also oversee the deportation of millions of undocumented immigrants. She joins other Trump allies, including Stephen Miller, appointed as deputy chief of staff, and Tom Homan, who will act as the "border czar." Trump and Homan have said they will begin efforts to deport "millions" of migrants on his first day back in the White House.
Border Czarina
The Department of Homeland Security operates with a $60 billion budget. Noem, 52, was seen as a rising star in the Republican Party until a scandal earlier this year when she revealed in her memoir that she had shot her own 14-month-old puppy, Cricket.
In her book, Noem wrote that she had brought Cricket on a hunting trip with older dogs to help calm the energetic puppy. Instead, Cricket chased after the pheasants, while "having the time of her life."
On the way home from the trip, Noem writes stopping to speak with a family when Cricket jumped out of the truck, attacked some of the family's chickens, and then bit the governor.
Noem deeply apologized, paid the family for the lost chickens, and helped them dispose of the carcasses, as she recounted. She noted that Cricket "was the picture of joy" throughout the entire incident.
"I hated that dog," Noem writes, deeming her "untrainable."
"At that moment," she says, "I realized I had to put her down."
Noem goes on to describe how she took Cricket to a gravel pit and shot the puppy dead.
That wasn't the end of it. She also mentions that her family had a "nasty and mean" male goat, which had a foul odor and would chase her children. Deciding to end the problem, she killed the goat as well.
She writes that the goat survived the first shot, so she returned to the truck for another shell and shot him again, ultimately killing him.
Checkered Career
Shortly after, a school bus dropped off Noem's children, and her daughter asked, "Hey, where's Cricket?" Noem recounts. The excerpts, originally published by The Guardian, sparked immediate backlash on social media, with many users sharing pictures of their own pets.
President Joe Biden's reelection campaign also highlighted the story on social media, alongside a photo of Noem with Trump.
Despite the controversy, Noem had been reintegrated into Trump's circle late in the campaign, even moderating his famous town hall that unexpectedly turned into a dance party.
The Daily Mail earlier reported on rumors suggesting that Noem, who is married, had an affair with Trump advisor Corey Lewandowski, who is also married, possibly starting in 2019 or earlier.
When asked about the affair, neither Noem nor Lewandowski denied it. The governor issued a statement slamming the timing of the article, while Lewandowski did not respond to a request for comment.
However, after the article was first released, Noem's spokesman, Ian Fury, strongly denied the affair, claiming that the two had never been involved.
