Rand Paul expects quick confirmation for Kristi Noem, supports almost all Trump nominees
Sen. Rand Paul plans to hold the confirmation hearing for Kristi Noem, President-elect Donald Trump’s selection to lead the Department of Homeland Security, on Friday with the aim of having her confirmed as soon as Inauguration Day next week.
Paul, the new chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, will oversee the nomination of Noem, the current governor of South Dakota who has been tapped to lead the federal agency tasked with securing the country’s borders and preventing terrorist attacks.
In an interview, Paul told The Herald-Leader that Noem could attract the votes of some Democrats, particularly as the party looks to take more seriously the challenge of combating illegal immigration in the wake of its November losses.
“I think the bar is so low that any kind of attempt to slow down the mass illegal migration would be an improvement,” Paul said of Noem’s credentials. “I think they’re going to be very aggressive, not only her but the entire [Trump] administration.”
In December 2024, U.S. Border Patrol reported approximately 47,000 migrant arrests along the U.S.-Mexico border, a significant decrease from the peak of 250,000 illegal crossings a year prior.
Following clearing Noem’s nomination out of his committee, Paul said he will conduct a hearing Thursday on the “Remain in Mexico” policy, a Trump-era directive that requires non-Mexican asylum seekers to stay in Mexico while their immigration proceedings are taking place.
Paul said that the goal of the public hearing will be to highlight what powers the policy already grants the incoming Trump administration to curb illegal immigration.
By making the process more difficult and prolonging the wait in often precarious conditions, the intention of “Remain in Mexico” is to deter migrants from attempting to cross the border and claim asylum.
Robyn Yakira Barnard, a senior director for refugee advocacy at Human Rights First, said she hoped the committee would probe Noem’s prior position on refugee resettlement.
“In 2021, Noem opposed resettling Afghan refugees during the withdrawal. Does she believe that certain refugees should be given priority for resettlement and protection over others?” Barnard asked. “The policies the first Trump administration implemented at the border led to mass chaos and grave human rights abuses, does she intend to reimplement these same policies like Remain in Mexico despite the strong evidence that they fail to deter people from coming and were counterproductive to good border management?”
Fewer no votes?
Paul said he will support the “vast majority” of Trump Cabinet nominees — including Fox News host Pete Hegseth to lead the Defense Department — but wouldn’t single out who he might oppose.
“The vast majority I’m for. There may be one or so I’m not,” Paul said. “I am going to oppose Trump on some policy, but on the vast majority of the nominees I think virtually all of them I will support.”
During Trump’s first term, Paul voted against Dan Coats to be director of national intelligence and Kentucky native Gina Haspel to direct the Central Intelligence Agency.
Paul has already signaled support for Tulsi Gabbard to run national intelligence and John Ratcliffe to be CIA director in Trump’s second term.
In 2018, Paul initially opposed Mike Pompeo’s nomination for secretary of state due to concerns over Pompeo’s support for enhanced interrogation techniques and wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. But after a call from then-President Trump, Paul reversed his position and voted in favor of Pompeo’s confirmation.
Paul has not yet publicly expressed support for Trump’s nominee for secretary of state, Marco Rubio. He has previously described Rubio as a neoconservative, with ideological designs comparable to Hillary Clinton.
This story has been updated to reflect the new hearing date.
This story was originally published January 14, 2025 at 12:32 PM.
