Noem’s naked ambition was apparent for years. It propelled her to power — and then to political disaster

Ambition drove Kristi Noem. For many years, it was a rocket fuel that propelled her to the upper reaches of American government. It was blended with an arrogance that appealed to many voters — she has never lost an election — and was recognized by President Donald Trump, who elevated her to the role as secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. Like Trump, Noem never apologized, never backed down, never considered any of her actions or words as an error.

She tried to squirm out of labeling Renee Good and Alex Pretti “domestic terrorists,” a foul and unwarranted assault on two people murdered by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. But she could not bring herself to admit her mistakes and offer sincere regrets for her hateful words.

And it was that heady blend of ambition and arrogance that brought her down this week. After two days of a bombardment of questions, criticisms and mockery during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, Noem was brought back to earth.

Trump fired her and shifted her to a newly created position, special envoy to The Shield of the Americas. Just trips off the tongue, doesn’t it? 

It’s a clear demotion and might just signal the end of her political career.

But don’t count on that just yet.

Noem’s rise was marked by a perfect record in campaigns. She was elected twice to represent Hamlin County in the South Dakota Legislature. In 2010, Noem decided to aim for a bigger prize, and jumped into a crowded pool of Republicans seeking the nomination for our lone seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Noem won, and declared herself the favorite to win in November. She was facing Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin, a young, highly educated and very skilled campaigner in the General Election.

Herseth Sandlin had just won a pair of races in landslides, but it was a conservative year. SHS, a moderate who irritated a few liberals in the state party with some of her votes and positions, also faced a rebellion within the South Dakota Democratic Party.

I met Noem immediately after the primary, when she stopped by The Mitchell Daily Republic for an interview. She told us she was going to win.

Noem did, too. She survived reports that summer of her long record of traffic offenses and skipped court appearances — early proof of her belief that she was above the rules — to defeat Herseth Sandlin in a close race.

Noem was easily re-elected in 2012, 2014 and 2016, with very little to show for her eight years in Congress other than receiving a college degree from SDSU, using trips to and from Washington to study. Right after her 2016 victory, she announced plans to run for governor. She still had more than two years to serve in Congress, but she was looking to move to a new job.

Noem won a close race in 2018, defeating Democratic hopeful Billie Sutton in a very close contest. Polls indicated Sutton had a chance to win, but Sen. John Thune, Vice President Mike Pence and, in the closing days of the campaign, Trump rallied behind her during appearances in the state.

Noem won. Her ambition was once again rewarded. She was re-elected in a much easier contest in 2022.

Her tenure as governor was marked by numerous battles, including with Native American tribes who banned her from their lands, with Republicans in Pierre who found her difficult to work with, and of course Democrats in South Dakota and across the country, whom she casually mocked and insulted. Noem does not believe in bipartisanship or working across the aisle. Instead, she fires guns and plays with a flamethrower.

Noem also “starred” in a series of commercials supposedly promoting the state, but primarily serving as a vehicle for her, you guessed it, ambition. That was a practice she continued as head of the DHS, even as she was mocked for her love of costumes and cosplay.

Noem also raised eyebrows and earned negative news coverage for failing to act in a timely manner during a 2024 flood, for interfering with her daughter’s efforts to obtain a state real estate appraiser license, for using state planes for numerous trips, for building a TV studio in the basement of the governor’s residence and for erecting a $462,000 fence around that home and spending tens of thousands more on furnishings.

The “Meth: We’re On It” media campaign was an expensive embarrassment. There is more, but you get the idea.

Still, she sought more power, and dipped her toe in national politics. She made almost no progress as a presidential contender, and then hoped Trump would select her as his running mate in 2024. She had helped spread the lie that the outcome of the 2020 election was in doubt, a position sure to please Trump, who still refuses to admit Joe Biden thumped him soundly.

Despite the bust she commissioned that featured America’s only convicted felon chief executive on Mount Rushmore, and her constant praise for him, Trump went with another candidate, JD Vance, who leaped off his couch at the offer.

Noem’s ambition went unfulfilled, but he did name her to his cabinet, and to a very prominent and powerful post. But once again, her combative personality and never-ending quest for media attention and publicity harmed her image and her ability to operate in Washington.

Bragging about shooting a rambunctious puppy named Cricket and a stubborn goat in a campaign biography, along with lying about meetings with world leaders turned an obscure book into a media firestorm that further harmed her.

Did Noem apologize? Of course not.

Her reported affair with “special government employee” Cory Lewandowski — both are married to other people but their relationship was reportedly an open secret in the capital — was another issue.

Noem was asked if they engaged in an affair during this week’s hearings.

“Have you had sexual relations with Corey Lewandowski?” Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-Calif.) asked Noem.

“I am shocked that we’re going down and peddling tabloid garbage in this committee today,” Noem replied. “I would tell you is that he is a special government employee who works for the White House. There are thousands of them in the federal government.”

“I really think you need to say the word ‘no’ into the record so that you can clear that up,” Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla.) said.

Noem, who was under oath, with her poor, humiliated husband Bryon seated right behind her, his face locked in a grimace, never used those two letters. It was a classic non-denial denial.

Trump, who cheated on all three wives and has boasted of his many affairs, seems a poor judge of that matter. But as we all know, he is far from consistent on moral and ethical matters.

Noem was defiant during her appearance before the Senate committee. But the senators, both Republican and Democrat, were prepared to expose her reckless spending, her blatant self-promotion and her abject failure in handling the fatal shootings of two Minneapolis protesters.

The final error was claiming repeatedly that Trump signed off on a $220 million contract to produce and distribute TV ads on immigration issues, many of which featured her. There was another spot showing her riding a horse with Mount Rushmore in the background.

Noem, of course, was at the center of the screen.

So, now what? She has been named to a job that Trump created for her, but will it have any real power? Will she still have access to him? Will the media still report her words and work?

That is highly unlikely. Noem has been cast into the shadows, and that is not a role she envisions for herself.

But that’s where her ambition and arrogance brought her. You have to think she might just wish she had completed her second term as governor and considered running for a return to Congress. Dusty Johnson seeks to follow in her footsteps and shift from the U.S. House to governor, with Noem’s old rival Marty Jackley the odds-on favorite to win the congressional seat.

Noem also could have challenged Sen. Mike Rounds for the GOP nomination for the U.S. Senate. She still might, with recent reports that an unidentified polling firm was making calls about a contest between Rounds, also a former governor who is seeking a third term as a senator, and Noem. 

There’s little doubt she has the ambition to serve as a senator. The avalanche of bad news coverage and her many foes in South Dakota politics might just make that too high a hurdle to cross this late in the 2026 campaign.

But never underestimate her ambition and arrogance. 

Fourth-generation South Dakotan Tom Lawrence has written for several newspapers and websites in South Dakota and other states for four decades. He has contributed to The New York Times, NPR, The London Telegraph, The Daily Beast and other media outlets. Do not republish without permission.

Photo: public domain, wikimedia commons

The South Dakota Standard is offered freely and is supported by our readers. We have no political or commercial sponsorship. If you'd like to help us continue our mission to advance independent political and social commentary, you can do so by clicking on the “Donate” button that's on the sidebar to your right.

Follow us and comment on X and Bluesky