Here are the 7 Democrats who voted for Noem as Homeland Security secretary

Filip Timotija
·2 min read
Here are the 7 Democrats who voted for Noem as Homeland Security secretary

Seven Democratic senators voted to confirm former South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (R) as the head of the Department of Homeland Security, allowing her to lead an agency that will be paramount to President Trump’s plan to crack down on illegal immigration during his second White House term.

Noem’s nomination was approved with a 59-34 vote, cruising to the position with less scrutiny and uncertainty compared to other Trump nominees. On Friday night, Vice President Vance had to cast a tiebreaking vote to confirm Pete Hegseth as Defense secretary.

Here are the seven Democratic senators who voted for Noem:

Sen. John Fetterman (Pa.) 

Sen. Maggie Hassan (N.H.) 

Sen. Tim Kaine (Va.)

Sen. Andy Kim (N.J.) 

Sen. Gary Peters (Mich.)

Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (N.H.) 

Sen. Elissa Slotkin (Mich.) 

Kim stated he disagrees “strongly” with Noem on many issues but said he could work alongside the former governor.

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“I had several direct conversations with Governor Noem. While we disagreed strongly on a number of key points of Trump’s agenda, we both agreed that we could more effectively raise and try to address the pressing needs and concerns of communities and families in New Jersey if we communicate and engage directly with one another,” Kim said in a Saturday statement.

Peters, the top Democrat on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, stated he supported Noem’s nomination because she pledged to tackle problems in a bipartisan fashion.

“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,” Peters said.

Seven senators did not vote: Sens. Angus King (I-Maine), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Jerry Moran (R-Kan.).

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