SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — International, national and local news were all one and the same Thursday for South Dakotans.
Former Gov. Kristi Noem, who has held one of the highest-profile positions in Washington as secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, will soon hold a new role. President Donald Trump announced Thursday on social media that Noem’s time leading DHS is ending, with Sen. Markwayne Mullin taking her spot. Noem, per the president, “will be moving to be Special Envoy for The Shield of the Americas, our new Security Initiative in the Western Hemisphere we are announcing on Saturday.” The change atop the Department of Homeland Security followed bipartisan criticism of Noem this week during testimony she gave.
Back in 2018, current South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley was running for the Republican nomination in the state’s gubernatorial race. Noem ended up beating him by 12,424 votes.
“We had a primary,” Jackley said Thursday. “We had different ideas of leadership, different ideas of the direction the state would go. But after that primary we were able to work together as state leaders, her as governor, me as attorney general.”
Jackley is currently running for South Dakota’s only seat in the U.S. House. With regard to his thoughts on Noem’s departure from her current role, Jackley deferred to the president and declined to give his own view of the announcement.
“I think it’s important to respect that cabinet positions serve at the pleasure of the president, and it was for the president to make those decisions, and I think we should respect that,” Jackley said.
Jackley also said he wishes Noem the best. It was a cooler sentiment from Dan Ahlers, the executive director of the South Dakota Democratic Party who is running for governor.
“I think this is just an example of what happens when you appoint someone to a very important position that’s, really doesn’t have the qualifications for it,” Ahlers said.
Ahlers and Noem served together as state lawmakers in Pierre. When talking Thursday about his former colleague’s ouster, he shares what he wants to see going forward.
“I really hope that as things move forward that people really think about the rhetoric that they put out there, the dangerous words that they use to describe other people,” Ahlers said.
In his social media post announcing Noem’s new role, the president did praise her, stating that she “has served us well, and has had numerous and spectacular results (especially on the Border!).”
Noem’s job loss stirs up social media
South Dakota Gov. Larry Rhoden’s office told KELOLAND News he was unavailable for an interview Thursday, but his office highlighted a social media post he had made: “Kristi is a dear friend and the toughest person I know. When she shut down the border in record time, others were shocked, but I wasn’t — I knew what she was capable of. She’ll deliver in her next role just as capably. I thank her for everything she’s done to keep South Dakota — and all America — strong, safe, and free.”
U.S. Representative Dusty Johnson, who like Rhoden is running for governor, also wasn’t available for an interview Thursday, but his office did provide a statement: “Secretary Kristi Noem served our country during an incredibly difficult time, working to unwind the weak border policies of the Biden Administration. Under her tenure, the southern border has seen nine straight months of no illegal border crossings. I’m grateful for her service.”
For this reporting, KELOLAND News also reached out to Jon Hansen and Toby Doeden, who are each also running for the Republican nomination in South Dakota’s 2026 gubernatorial contest. Neither replied. Doeden posted on social media that Mullin, the man tapped by the president to replace Noem atop DHS, “is going to make a great addition to the Trump Administration.”
Jim Eschenbaum, chairman of the South Dakota GOP, said in response to an interview request that he was traveling. Eschenbaum, too, provided a statement: “I really don’t know for sure why President Trump removed Secretary Noem, but I fully trust his judgment. I’m sure President Trump will tell her where to go next.”
