On Monday, the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee voted 13 to 2 in approval of President Donald Trump's pick for Department of Homeland Security secretary, Kristi Noem. A path now opens for the Senate to confirm Noem in a floor vote.
"Throughout the confirmation process, Governor Kristi Noem has demonstrated she is prepared to face the challenges of being DHS Secretary. I'm proud to support her nomination and commend the Committee for the bipartisan effort in advancing her nomination to the Senate floor, where she will be confirmed quickly," the committee's Chair Rand Paul, R-Ky., said in a statement, according to The Hill.
Noem also enjoyed the support from a majority of Democrats on the panel.
Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., the committee's ranking member, said in a statement:
"During her confirmation hearing, I pressed Governor Noem to set aside partisan ideologies and to follow the facts when it comes to the threats our communities face — whether we're talking about securing our borders, foreign and domestic terrorism, or even increasingly devastating natural disasters."
"Given her openness to working on a bipartisan basis to address these and other threats to our homeland security, I voted to advance her nomination out of committee and send it to the Senate floor for consideration."