If Trump doesn’t pick Noem as his running mate, her poisonous policies could land her in his Cabinet

There has been rampant speculation that Gov. Kristi Noem may emerge as Donald Trump's choice as a vice presidential running mate in this year’s election. This speculation has been fueled by Noem’s incessant efforts to curry favor with Trump, including traveling around the country to appear at rallies and events. 

If someone other than Noem — South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott or New York Rep. Elise Stefanik, for example — is chosen as his running mate, here’s another nightmare scenario: perhaps Noem (seen above at a 2019 White House meeting with Trump in a public domain photo posted on wikimedia commons) would be Trump’s choice for secretary of the Interior.

Noem has been extremely hostile toward environmental protection initiatives, parks and Native American tribes as our governor. In the president’s cabinet, the Interior secretary is in charge of the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) and the National Park Service (NPS), among other agencies. South Dakota actually has an excellent state park system, of which Custer State Park is the crown jewel. As governor, Noem proposed destroying much of the park’s wildlife loop to establish an RV park where buffalo and antelope currently roam. Fortunately, our Republican-controlled Legislature blocked this initiative, and protected the park. 

Noem also abolished our freestanding Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) by merging it with the Department of Agriculture, making South Dakota an outlier among states with no cabinet department devoted primarily to protecting the environment. An effort in the Legislature to overturn this reorganization failed by a whisker. 

Her administration has spurned numerous federal grants that relate to environmental protection and curbing climate change. Noem spurned the opportunity to develop more solar energy, as South Dakota was one of just six states that did not apply for “Solar for All” federal funding, while our “Sunshine State” ranks 47th in the nation for production of solar power, according to a recent story by Bart Pfankuch in South Dakota News Watch. 

The Inflation Reduction Act offers $370 billion in tax credits and incentives to develop solar, wind and other renewable energy, but apparently South Dakota is not interested. Noem also refused to apply for federal Climate Pollution Reduction Grant money to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. After all, if climate change is a liberal hoax, why should we worry about greenhouse gases?

But Noems’ poisonous relations with South Dakota’s nine Native American tribes may well be the low point of her administration. She has now been banned from entering our four largest reservations (Pine Ridge, Rosebud, Cheyenne River and Standing Rock), largely as a result of her unsupported allegation that tribal leaders are “personally benefiting” from Mexican drug cartel activity.

A communiqué from Rosebud stated that “(her) disingenuous nature toward Native Americans to further her federal political ambitions is an attack on Tribal Sovereignty that the Rosebud Sioux Tribe will not tolerate.”

Janet Alkire, who is the chair of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, stated that “Noem’s wild and irresponsible attempt to connect tribal leaders and parents with Mexican drug cartels is a sad reflection of her fear-based politics.”

There may not be a major politician in America who has a more hostile relationship with Native people than Kristi Noem. As such, she would be a devastating replacement for our current Interior secretary, Deb Haaland of New Mexico, who is the first Native American to ever hold a cabinet post. 

Noem had previously clashed with South Dakota tribes over Covid-19 checkpoints at Pine Ridge and Cheyenne River, and over her support for harsh penalties for Keystone XL pipeline protesters who were concerned that the pipeline could poison tribal domestic water supplies.

Noem has also fought against tribal cannabis operations, and returned unused federal Emergency Rental Assistance funds in 2022 without consulting the tribes. 

Perhaps Kristi Noem’s extreme hostility toward Native American leaders, coupled with her disdain for parks and for environmental protection, would make her just the Interior secretary that Donald Trump would want. That would be yet another reason to resist Trump’s return to power at all costs. 

Jay Davis is a retired Rapid City attorney who regularly writes for The South Dakota Standard.