South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Homeland Security, isn’t too keen on the department’s whole “thwarting foreign manipulation” thing.
At her confirmation hearing Friday, Noem gave her thoughts on the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), which was formed during the first Trump administration. For background, Trump fired Chris Krebs as CISA director after the 2020 election, following Krebs’ work to debunk Republican lies about voter fraud. The agency has been under fire from Republicans ever since for its work countering mis- and disinformation.
Noem suggested she wants to restrict some of that work, saying the agency has gotten “far off mission” and that its leaders are “using their resources in ways that was never intended.” She said “the misinformation and disinformation that they have stuck their toe into and meddled with should be refocused back onto what their job is,” which Noem said is to “support critical infrastructure” by protecting “small businesses” and utility companies from cyberattacks.
Given that protecting national infrastructure is a major component of the agency’s work, there’s no reason to believe the agency needs to be refocused on the mission. It’s also odd to hear Noem talk about the need to protect Americans’ data from foreign cyberattacks while downplaying the need to combat misinformation in the same breath. Stolen data can be used by foreign actors to target Americans with misinformation and manipulation campaigns. In fact, in 2016, that happened — to Donald Trump’s benefit. And it’s fair to say that’s factored into the GOP’s general aversion to thwarting misinformation over the last several years.In his farewell address, Joe Biden warned about the Big Tech oligarchy, which largely consists of social media owners and executives who are coalescing around Trump. And he warned that they could use misinformation to maintain their power.
As DHS secretary, Noem would be on the front lines of America’s war against misinformation and in a key role to confront those manipulators looking to influence us all. She showed no interest in doing so at her confirmation hearing Friday.
Ja’han Jones is an MS NOW opinion blogger. He previously wrote The ReidOut Blog.