By Emma Rose Brown

Shortly after winning the election in November, President Donald Trump nominated Kristi Noem to be secretary of homeland security in his second administration. Following a Jan. 17 hearing, her nomination cleared the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, and she was confirmed by the Senate on Jan. 25. The longtime Trump ally immediately began carrying out his immigration agenda. 

Who is she? After serving in the South Dakota Legislature for four years, Noem represented the state in the House of Representatives from 2011 to 2019, before becoming governor in 2019. As a member of Congress, Noem backed Trump’s Executive Order 13769, which banned travel to the United States by citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries and temporarily halted the U.S. refugee program. While governor, she deployed dozens of South Dakota National Guard members to the southern border in coordination with Texas officials. A lifelong rancher and farmer, Noem was under consideration to be Trump’s running mate until she wrote about killing a family dog in her 2024 memoir, “No Going Back.”

Follow the money:

• Noem has raised nearly $35 million (see federal and state data), in total, for her eight elections. Her two gubernatorial races brought in more than $24 million, and about half of those donations came from out of state. In her most recent gubernatorial election, she received $2.9 million from the Republican Governors Association, more than double its contribution to her first campaign.

• After being elected to Congress, she soon separated herself as a top fundraiser in the freshman class. She raised $169,000 in the first quarter of 2011, the third-most of any first-term member of Congress. During her time in Congress, PACs donated over $3 million, with over half a million in contributions from health professionals and $370,000 from the insurance industry. 

• In 2017, she ranked in the top third of members of Congress in terms of wealth, with an estimated net worth of $2.35 million. Her husband, Bryon Noem, owns an insurance agency, which was then valued between $1 million and $5 million. 

• Noem’s efforts to send National Guard troops to the U.S.-Mexico border in 2019 were supported by a $1 million donation from Willis Johnson, the billionaire Republican donor and founder of junkyard company Copart. 

Why does it matter?

As DHS secretary, Noem will be tasked with overseeing federal immigration policy as well as domestic terrorism. Johnson’s support for National Guard activity, though legal, concerned experts who worried that the private funding of military actions could further politicize the military and set a dangerous precedent. 

On Sunday, The New York Times reported that thousands of pages from government websites had been removed, including open data and methodology critical to scientific research, the study of crime and health care.

As stalwart defenders of transparency in government, we are deeply concerned about the compromise of information access. Data and primary source information sit at the core of government accountability, which requires a strong fourth estate, an engaged public, and systems of checks and balances. In an era where interpretations and analyses can span the ideological spectrum, data is a source of truth — one essential to guaranteeing liberty and to a functioning democracy.

OpenSecrets is one part of a vast community of nonprofits, academics, corporations, media and government offices that mobilize public data to support Americans. In an era of declining trust in institutions, publicly available data is a key element in restoring faith. We guarantee that four decades of data on money in politics remains accessible.

We stand by our mission to provide comprehensive and reliable data, analysis and tools for policymakers, storytellers and citizens. Right now, we are preparing to publish our final reports on 2024 so the public can understand where the billions of dollars spent on the election came from and how they were spent. In addition we will be releasing final data and analysis on the billions spent on lobbying Congress in 2024.

Only by understanding money in politics can we create a more vibrant, representative and responsive democracy.

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On the Bernie/RFK Pharma Money Spat (Sludge)

According to these figures, in 2020, Sanders’ campaign did receive more money from the pharmaceutical industry than any other member of Congress. But a closer examination shows that with perhaps just a few exceptions the money in OpenSecrets’ tallies came from rank-and-file employees looking to support Sanders’ campaign and not from executives, lobbyists, or PACs that often use their contributions to support their companies’ political interests. 

A shorter commute: Lawmakers, lobbyists argued over adding flights at busy Reagan airport (USA Today)

In total, Delta spent about $5.2 million in lobbying in 2023 and another $4.2 million in 2024, according to disclosures compiled by OpenSecrets. United spent about $11.5 million over the period. American Airlines also opposed the changes and spent $8.1 million overall.

California senators aren’t up for re-election in 2026 — but they have millions in campaign cash (The Sacramento Bee)

Those totals are likely to be far from what they will need if they seek re-election. Spending in California’s 2024 Senate race, which Schiff won, totaled $141 million, according to OpenSecrets, a nonpartisan research firm. The figure includes money spent by independent groups.

Once a Trump critic, Mark Zuckerberg pivots toward the president (Deseret News)

The tech mogul once described himself as “pro-knowledge economy” and has donated to both Republicans and Democrats, data from OpenSecrets show.