Sen. John Thune has won an internal election among Republican senators to become the chamber’s next majority leader

President-elect Trump announced on Tuesday that Kristi Noem is his pick for secretary of the Department of Homeland Security.

Trump says he will nominate South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem to head Homeland Security Department WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- Trump says he will nominate South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem to head Homeland Security Department. 24/7 coverage of breaking news and live ...

South Dakota Republican Gov. Kristi Noem is President-elect Donald Trump’s choice to run the federal Department of Homeland Security, according to CNN.

Thune, who is 63 and in his fourth Senate term, has promised to work closely with President-elect Donald Trump despite differences between the two over the years.

Noem, 52, a Trump loyalist who has offered firm backing for the GOP leader's promise to carry out mass deportations, will preside over multiple agencies.

Voters in South Dakota have rejected a proposal to add protections for abortion rights to the state constitution, preserving a near-total ban there

Another ballot measure could give grocery shoppers relief by removing the state sales tax on food. South Dakota lowered its general sales tax last year from 4.5 percent to 4.2 percent, and the new initiative would eliminate taxes on most food items, excluding alcohol and prepared meals.

The first time Kristi Noem met Donald Trump, she did what any aspiring governor would do — tried to drum up a little tourism. Come to South Dakota, she told him. See the sights. “I shook his hand, and I said,

U.S. Senate Republicans on Wednesday elected South Dakota Sen. John Thune as that chamber’s next majority leader during a closed-door, secret ballot election. When Thune takes over in January, it will mark the first time since 2007 that Kentucky Sen.

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem has been nominated to lead the Department of Homeland Security in the new Trump administration.