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.

Kristi Noem was confirmed Saturday morning as the new U.S. secretary of Homeland Security by a 59-34 vote. The 53-year-old former governor of South Dakota becomes the eighth person to lead the agency,

South Dakota Republican Gov. Kristi Noem will be the nation’s next secretary of the Department of Homeland Security after the U.S. Senate confirmed her nomination Saturday. The 53-year-old Noem, a former congresswoman,

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.

The US Senate on Saturday confirmed South Dakota governor Kristi Noem to lead the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), a key agency in President Donald Trump's push to clamp down on illegal immigration.

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.

Noem said some non-governmental organizations (NGOs), which receive millions in federal grants, have been facilitating illegal immigration by helping aliens cross the U.S. border.