Trump has picked Noem as Homeland Security secretary, a job that includes overseeing FEMA. But some residents of her home state say she bungled the response to June floods.

If confirmed by the Senate, Noem would oversee the DHS, a 245,000-employee federal department whose mission is protecting the people of the United States. For context, the largest city in South Dakota is Sioux Falls, with 213,000 residents. South Dakota has a population of more than 800,000 residents.

GOP state officials argued that the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services rule created earlier this year would be a strong incentive for immigrants to remain in the U.S. illegally.

President-elect Donald Trump has filled the key posts for his second term in office, prioritizing loyalty to him after he felt bruised and hampered by internal squabbling during his first term.

The Dakotas and Great Plains states are primed to be more geopolitically important than ever in the new congressional and presidential terms.