The Senate voted on Saturday morning to confirm Kristi Noem as President Donald Trump’s Homeland Security secretary, installing a long-time Trump ally at the helm of an agency poised to play a central role in the president’s promised immigration crackdown.

The Senate confirmed Kristi Noem as homeland security secretary on Saturday by a 59-34 vote, putting the former South Dakota governor in charge of a sprawling agency that is essential to national security and President Donald Trump's plans to clamp down on illegal immigration.

The Senate confirmed Gov. Kristi Noem (R-SD) as the next Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security on Sunday during a weekend vote, as Republicans overcame efforts by Democrats to delay the process by using procedural hurdles.

Catch up quick: The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee voted 13-2 Monday in favor of her nomination. Noem, 53, was the first governor to deploy state National Guard troops to the U.S.-Mexico border in Texas.

The Senate voted 59 to 34 to confirm Ms. Noem, the governor of South Dakota, as the new head of the Homeland Security Department.

The role is key to Trump’s plans for his second term after pledging to deport millions of undocumented immigrants and impose a crackdown at the southern border.