South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem has been selected to join Donald Trump's Cabinet as the head of Homeland Security, CNN reported.The governor - whose vice presidential hopes were dashed when she admitted to shooting her puppy - will implement Trump's promises to clean up the mess at the southern border and deport millions of illegal migrants.
She joins Trump loyalists such as Stephen Miller, who was appointed as deputy chief of staff, and Tom Homan, who will serve as 'border czar.' The Department of Homeland Security has a $60 billion budget.
Trump and Honan have said they will start their work to deport 'millions' of migrants on his first day in the White House.
Noem, 52, was considered a rising star in the Republican Party until a scandal earlier this year where she revealed in her biography that she shot her own puppy, a 14-month-old named Cricket.
South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem appears set to become the latest Republican official to join Donald Trump 's Cabinet, as the president-elect has picked her as Homeland Security Secretary
The governor will be a key point person on one of Trump's key promises: to clean up the mess at the southern border and potentially deport millions of illegal migrants
The Republican wrote that she took Cricket on a hunting trip with older dogs in hopes of calming down the wild puppy. Instead, Cricket chased the pheasants while 'having the time of her life.'
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On the way home from the hunting trip, Noem writes that when she stopped to talk to a family, Cricket got out of her truck and attacked and killed some of a family's chickens, and then bit the governor.
Noem apologized profusely, wrote the distraught family a check for the deceased chickens, and helped them dispose of the carcasses, she writes. She wrote that Cricket 'was the picture of joy' as all that unfolded.
'I hated that dog,' Noem writes, deeming her 'untrainable.'
'At that moment,' she says, 'I realized I had to put her down.'
Noem then recalls leading Cricket to a gravel pit and shooting her dead.
That wasn't all. Noem writes that her family also owned a 'nasty and mean' male goat that smelled bad and liked to chase her kids, so she decided to go ahead and kill the goat, too.
Noem tries out her flamethrower on a pile of cardboard boxes in South Dakota
The Republican Governor has hit the headlines for both positive and negative stories in recent months
Noem, sensa 138 52, was considered a rising star in the Republican Party until a scandal earlier this year where she revealed in her biography that she shot her own puppy , a 14-month-old named Cricket
She will run the Department of Homeland Security, which has a $60 billion budget, with the assistance of Trump loyalists Stephen Miller and Tom Homan (pictured right)
She writes that the goat survived the first shot, so she went back to the truck, got another shell, then shot him again, killing him.
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South Dakota governor Kristi Noem defends shooting 'aggressive' puppy on her family's farm: 'Dogs who attack and kill Can be put down'
Soon thereafter, a school bus dropped off Noem's children. Her daughter asked, 'Hey, where's Cricket?' Noem writes.
The excerpts, first published by The Guardian, drew immediate criticism on social media platforms, where many posted photos of their own pets. President Joe Biden's reelection campaign surfaced the story on social media alongside a photo of Noem with Trump.
However, she had been brought back into the fold by Trump late in the campaign, including moderating his infamous town hall that turned into an impromptu dance party.
DailyMail.com also reported on rumors that Noem, who is married, was having an affair with Trump advisor Corey Lewandowski, who is also married, carrying on in 2019, if not before.
Neither denied the affair when asked by DailyMail.com. The Governor issued a statement attacking us for the timing of the article, while Lewandowski did not respond to a request for comment
However, after the initial publication of the article, Noem's spokesman Ian Fury vehemently insisted the pair had never had an affair.
Married South Dakota governor Kristi Noem, 51, and ex-Trump advisor Corey Lewandowski (pictured in Ohio in 2020) have been engaging in a years-long romance, despite both being married, DailyMail.com can reveal
Earlier Monday, Donald Trump asked Congressman Mike Waltz of Florida to be his White House National Security Advisor, sources familiar with the decision tell DailyMail.com
The president spent much of Monday attempting to secure key parts of his cabinet ahead of his January inauguration.
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BREAKING NEWS
Trump picks Florida congressman Mike Waltz as National Security Advisor for Cabinet
He has offered the role of US ambassador to the United Nations to Elise Stefanik.
The House Republican and top ally of the president accepted the UN gig after it was offered on Sunday, DailyMail.com confirmed.
Trump also selected former New York Rep. Lee Zeldin to be his next Environmental Protection Agency administrator.
Zeldin confirmed the news on X.com, promising to 'restore American energy dominance' and 'slash the red tape holding back American workers from upward economic mobility.'
He has also asked Congressman Mike Waltz of Florida to be his White House National Security Advisor, sources familiar with the decision tell DailyMail.com.
PoliticsSouth Dakota