Amna Nawaz
@PBSNewsHour·5.3M subscribers·62.2K videos
WATCH: Noem commits to ‘no political bias’ in disaster relief | Trump confirmation hearings
Posted
January 17, 2025
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January 17, 2025
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3:29Now PlayingSen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Ct., asked homeland security secretary nominee Kristi Noem on Friday whether she would allow political bias to affect whether different communities receive disaster relief in the future.
“Under my leadership at the Department of Homeland Security, there will be no political bias to how disaster relief is delivered to the American people,” Noem said in her confirmation hearing held by the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
Blumenthal pressed her, asking specifically how she would respond if President-elect Donald Trump asked her to withhold federal disaster aid to a state because of political disagreements. He referred to reports that the president withheld money from Washington in early 2021 because of a personal dislike of Democratic Gov. Jay Inslee. Noem said she would not respond to hypotheticals, and said she didn’t know what scenario Blumenthal was referring to.
Ultimately, she said that if she were confirmed, she will “deliver the programs according to the law and that it will be done with no political bias.”
Noem, the Republican governor of South Dakota, is a rancher and a former member of Congress. A close ally to Trump, Noem has called migration across the U.S. southern border “an invasion.” If confirmed, Noem would play a key role in carrying out his promised immigration crackdown by leading the Department of Homeland Security, one of the largest federal agencies.
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