South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (R) stated Friday that Democratic governors who’ve pledged to withstand President-elect Trump’s immigration insurance policies are being “extremely irresponsible” and may as a substitute search dialogue with the incoming administration.
“If I had a new president in the White House, and even if he wasn’t from my political party, the first thing I would do would be call him up and see if I could get a meeting,” Noem stated on NewsNation’s “Elizabeth Vargas Reports.”
The Republican governor dismissed early opposition from Democratic governors like Illinois’ JB Pritzker and California’s Gavin Newsom as “not a mature response” to Trump’s election victory.
Newsom, a fierce critic of Trump, referred to as on lawmakers Thursday to convene a particular session later this yr to safeguard the state’s progressive insurance policies on local weather change, reproductive rights and immigration forward of one other Trump presidency.
The transfer — a day after the previous president defeated Vice President Harris within the presidential race — successfully reignited California’s resistance marketing campaign in opposition to conservative insurance policies that state Democratic leaders began in the course of the first Trump administration.
Additionally it is a part of a rising dialogue amongst Democratic state officers throughout the nation searching for to guard insurance policies that face threats below Trump’s management.
Concerning her personal potential cupboard place, the South Dakota governor deflected questions on reviews she’s being thought of to guide the Inside Division, saying solely that “the only person who will make that decision is President Trump” whereas noting she “love[s] being governor of South Dakota.”
The governor additionally expressed assist for the Justice Division’s determination to droop investigations into Trump, saying it was “a good first step” towards restoring religion in federal regulation enforcement businesses. She stated the president-elect had assured her he didn’t plan to pursue political prosecutions as soon as he was in workplace.
“Trump ally and South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem is a possibility for Interior Secretary, according to a person familiar with the matter,” a Wall Road Journal story revealed Thursday that checked out quite a lot of potential cupboard appointments stated.
She was the one one talked about for the Inside Division slot.
If chosen and confirmed, Noem would substitute the Biden administration’s Inside secretary, Deb Haaland, who, in line with the division’s web site, “made history when she became the first Native American to serve as a cabinet secretary. She is a member of the Pueblo of Laguna and a 35th-generation New Mexican.”
Among the many U.S. Division of Inside’s official duties are federal relationships with tribal governments, together with the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Bureau of Indian Training.
Noem, as governor, has confronted ups and downs with tribal governments in South Dakota.
She provided emergency help after flooding in 2019, moved the state Workplace of Indian Training from the state Division of Training to the state Division of Tribal Affairs, has been banned from lots of the 9 reservations at completely different instances and shifted funding so the state’s regulation enforcement coaching program might conduct the first-ever class for tribal officers this yr.
Trump’s little-noticed marketing campaign promise to shift 1000’s of federal staff who’re in Washington, D.C., to “patriot-led states” additionally factors to a possible acquire for South Dakota.
The previous president has gained South Dakota all three of his presidential bids. On Tuesday, he obtained 272,000 votes vs. 146,837 for Harris. That 63 p.c was barely greater than the 62 p.c Trump obtained from the Mount Rushmore State’s voters in 2020 and 2016.
NewsNation is owned by Nexstar Media Group, which additionally owns The Hill.
South Dakota’s KELO, a Nexstar affiliate, and The Related Press contributed reporting.
