Kristi Noem
American politician (born 1971)
Kristi Lynn Arnold Noem ( NOHM; née Arnold; born November 30, 1971) is an American politician serving as the United States special envoy for the Shield of the Americas since 2026. From 2025 to 2026, she served as the eighth United States secretary of homeland security. A member of the Republican Party, she served from 2019 to 2025 as the 33rd governor of South Dakota and represented South Dakota's at-large congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2011 to 2019. During her tenure at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), her immigration policies generated controversies, particularly following the actions of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Born in Watertown, South Dakota, Noem began her political career in the South Dakota House of Representatives, serving from 2007 to 2011. She was elected as the first female governor of South Dakota in 2018 with the endorsement of President Donald Trump. She gained national attention during the COVID-19 pandemic for opposing statewide mask mandates in favor of voluntary measures. Noem has conservative positions on most domestic issues, particularly gun rights, abortion, and immigration.
In January 2026, Noem defended the killings of Renée Good and Alex Pretti by federal ICE agents, before any investigation, which led some lawmakers to call for her resignation or impeachment. In March 2026, Noem appeared before the Senate Committee on the Judiciary after reports emerged of her alleged relationship with her subordinate, Corey Lewandowski, and of her misuse of government funds on television advertisements and private luxury jets, as well as inappropriate use of U.S. Coast Guard assets and housing.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Kristi Noem” as american politician (born 1971). Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the people & ideas register because the source frames it as american politician (born 1971). Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Chronology provides the most reliable spine for this subject; interpretation should follow only after identities and dates are secure. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 22, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q465749. VIAF identifies the subject as 258032842. The Library of Congress control number is no2012094452. 2 of 4 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1971, 2026, 2025 and 2019.
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This entry incorporates text from “Kristi Noem” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.