President-elect Donald Trump has selected South Dakota Gov.Kristi Noem(R) as his next secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. Noem is a self-confessed puppy murderer who once lied about meeting North Korean dictator Kim Jung Un. She has also championed lots of anti-transgender policies while serving as governor.In addition to harming her states own LGBTQ+ citizens, she opposed COVID-19 prevention measures during pandemic, leading to several massive outbreaks in her state. In 2024, all nine tribes of South Dakota banned Noem from entering any tribal lands (consisting of 20% of South Dakotas total land) after she baselessly claimed that Native American leaders are personally benefiting from Mexican drug cartels operating on tribal lands. She provided no evidence to support her claim. Related Gov. Kristi Noem issues threat to trans students just in time for Christmas Gov. Kristi Noem vetoed an anti-trans bill earlier this year. Now she wants it to become law. Kristi Noem at a glance Insights for the LGBTQ+ community Subscribe to our briefing for insights into how politics impacts the LGBTQ+ community and more. Subscribe to our Newsletter today Location: Pierre, South DakotaParty Affiliation: RepublicanRace/Ethnicity: Norwegian-AmericanGender Identity: FemaleOrientation: HeterosexualPronouns: She/her/hersLGBTQ+ Ally: No Social mediaFacebook:Kristi.NoemX:@KristiNoemInstagram:KristiNoemYouTube:GovernorKristiNoem/KristiNoemSDWebsite:KristiNoem.comKristi Noems stance on LGBTQ+ issues Same-sex marriageNoem disagrees with the U.S. Supreme Courts 2015 ruling that legalized same-sex marriage nationwide, her spokeswoman Brittany Comins told The Argus Leader.Trans children in sportsIn March 2021, Noem signed executive orders banning ban transgender girls and women from participating in public school and university sports. The orders said, Current policies that allow males to participate in womens athletics threaten to diminish opportunities for women, due to the inherent physical differences between men and women.The orders required people to play on sports teams matching the biological sex they were assigned at birth.In February 2022, Noem signed S.B. 46, a law that bans transgender girls and women from participating in public school and university sports teams that match their gender identities. Noem said that the bill would protect a level playing field for girls. She bragged about this in a January 2022 campaign ad. In South Dakota, only girls play girls sports. Watch my new ad that debuts during prime time news programs across the country tonight about my bill that will give South Dakota the strongest law protecting female sports in the nation! pic.twitter.com/0bREmXz8eh Kristi Noem (@KristiNoem) January 13, 2022In November 2023, she was one of nine Republican governors who signeda letterto the NCAA asking the organization to ban trans women from competing in womens sports. Transgender access to public bathroomsNoem supportedH.B. 1005, a bill that would have restricted trans youth from accessing multi-occupancy bathrooms, locker rooms, and shower rooms. The bill would have also allowed students who witness trans classmates violating the law to sue their school districts. The bill died in the state legislature.Dont say gay/LGBTQ+ discussions in schoolsWhile Noem hasnt specifically commented on school policies that forbid LGBTQ+ content in schools, in 2021, she signed The 1776 Pledge, a Christian Nationalist pledge that calls on lawmakers to promote a curriculum that teaches that all children are created equal, have equal moral value under God, our Constitution, and the law, and are members of a national community united by our founding principles, prohibit any curriculum that pits students against one another on the basis of race or sex, and prevent schools from politicizing education by prohibiting any curriculum that requires students to protest and lobby during or after school.The originators of the pledge, the 1776 Action Committee, said that it formed to stopthe far Lefts advance into K-12 classrooms. The language in its pledge and its website echo that of other right-wing activists who have claimed that the presentation of LGBTQ+ issues in schools is divisive and distracting. Gender-affirming care for trans youthIn February 2023, Noem signed H.B. 1080, a law that forbids doctors from validating any minor persons transgender identity. It also forbids them from providing puberty blockers, hormone replacement therapy (HRT), any sterilizing surgery, any surgery that constructs genitalia differing from the gender a person was assigned at birth, and any removal of healthy or non-diseased body part or tissue.The procedures are only banned in the context of transitioning. That is, state lawmakers didnt ban these medical treatments because they believe theyre too dangerous; they only banned a class of people from getting the procedures for a specific purpose. Discrimination protectionsIn June 2022, she threatened to sue the administration of President Joe Biden over its threats to withhold federal educational funding from schools that roll back protections for LGBTQ+ students.In March 2021, Noem signed S.B. 124, a so-called Religious Freedom Restoration Act that allowed potential exemptions to discriminate against LGBTQ+ people across a wide range of goods and services in the state. Other LGBTQ+ issuesNoem has called for a ban on drag shows and any mention of preferred pronouns on public college campuses in order to protect free speech. While announcing her support of these policies, she blamed safe spaces and diversity initiatives for low graduation rates and post-grad underemployment. She also established a whistleblower hotline where citizens can report concerns at institutions of higher education in the state.The policies have affected state university workers.In February 12024, South Dakota was forced to issue an apology letter and pay $300,000 to the transgender advocacy group the Transformation Project after the states Department of Health under Noem discriminatorily terminated its contract with the organization after Noem was questioned about it by theright-wing media outletThe Daily Signal. The group sued, leading to the apology and payment. Noems careerAttended Northern State University from 1990 to 1994, didnt graduateWorked on her familys farm, adding a hunting lodge and restaurant to its businessesGraduated from South Dakota State University with Bachelor of Arts in 2012Elected to South Dakotas House of Representatives in 2006Elected to U.S. House of Representatives in 2010, re-elected in 2012, 2014, and 2016Elected as South Dakotas governor in 2018, re-elected in 2022 Noem doesnt think about how her policies harm othersIn February 2022, a journalist notified Noem that87% of the states LGBTQ+ population had reported feeling depressed in a then-recent survey. When asked why she thought that was, she replied I dont know. That makes me sad, and we should figure it out.In response, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierrewrote on Twitter (now X), Heres a start for you, Governor. 1. Dont advance policies that attack trans youth, 2. Dont fund ads attacking LGBT youth, 3. support @POTUS agenda to enhance support for youth mental health needs, with funding made available through the American Rescue Plan, The Human Rights Campaign responded, You not only signed an anti-trans bill into law, but also authored it yourself. If youre looking for a reason why LGBTQ+ youth are struggling in South Dakota, look in the mirror. Related Kristi Noems puppy murder mirrors the brutality of the entire MAGA universe One of the litmus tests by which a society can be judged is the way it treats its animals & Noems litmus paper has turned a deep and acidic red. GOP governor calls for ban on drag shows & pronouns preferences to protect free speech She also established a whistleblower hotline where concerned citizens can report colleges and universities. South Dakotas anti-LGBTQ governor had a fake Mt. Rushmore made to please Donald Trump Trump was once seriously interested in getting himself etched onto Mount Rushmore. Kristi Noem couldnt do that, but she sought out and gifted him a mini version of the monument with his head right next to Lincolns. Subscribe to theLGBTQ Nation newsletterand be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.