Native tribe lifts banishment on Noem ahead of Senate confirmation hearing
A Native American tribe in South Dakota lifted its banishment on Republican Gov. Kristi Noem in a letter Wednesday, offering its endorsement of her nomination to serve as secretary of Homeland Security, Fox News Digital has learned. Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe President Tony Reider wrote a letter to Noem Wednesday informing her the tribe’s executive committee voted to “remove the banishment” it placed on Noem in May and congratulated her for her nomination to serve in President-elect Trump’s cabinet. The letter comes just days before Noem is scheduled to appear before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee for her confirmation hearing. “I commend you on your nomination by President Elect Donald Trump to the position of Secretary of U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and hereby support your nomination. I wish you the best of luck during the Senate confirmation hearing on January 17, 2025, and believe that your dedication to the safety and security of the United States will benefit us all,” Reider’s letter states, according to a copy obtained by Fox News Digital. SOUTH DAKOTA GOV. NOEM BANNED FROM TRIBAL RESERVATION OVER REMARKS ON US SOUTHERN BORDER All nine native tribes in South Dakota banned Noem from their reservations last year after outrage over her suggestion that tribal leaders benefit from cartels and the immigration crisis and comments regarding native children’s futures. The Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe was the last tribe to ban her. POWERFUL FIRE UNION THAT WAS NEUTRAL IN 2024 BACKS NOEM FOR DHS AS CALIFORNIA WILDFIRES RAGE “Their kids don’t have any hope. They don’t have parents who show up and help them. They have a tribal council or a president who focuses on a political agenda more than they care about actually helping somebody’s life look better,” Noem said last year in a comment that drew criticism from tribes. Reider addressed the issue in his letter to Noem Wednesday, explaining that the governor has apologized for her previous remarks and explained her commentary. ‘NO TIME TO PLAY’: SENATE MUST QUICKLY CONFIRM NOEM AS DHS CHIEF IN WAKE OF TERROR ATTACK, SAYS LOUISIANA GOV “One of the stipulations contained in the banishment resolution was that you apologize for the comments that were made regarding tribal members and the education of tribal member children which were deemed offensive by some. In several meetings before and after the resolution was passed, you not only explained your position, but apologized if the comments offended the Tribe. You additionally sought advice on how to phrase such communications moving forward, which the Tribe and I appreciated,” Reider wrote. TRIBES BLAST SOUTH DAKOTA GOVERNOR’S CLAIM THAT LEADERS ARE BENEFITING FROM DRUG CARTELS The letter comes as Noem prepares for her Senate confirmation hearing Friday morning. Trump announced Noem as his pick to lead DHS shortly after his decisive win over Kamala Harris, citing the Republican governor’s efforts to secure the southern border, which has been overwhelmed by illegal crossings under the Biden administration. In the months since her nomination, Noem has picked up endorsements from at least eight police groups or unions, including a union that represents thousands of Border Patrol agents. Republican Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry also called on Senate lawmakers, most notably Democrats, to swiftly confirm Noem after a terrorist attack that shook New Orleans on New Year’s Day. The International Association of Fire Fighters, a large, historically Democratic firefighter union, also recently endorsed Noem, arguing during the raging wildfires in Los Angeles she “understands emergency management and the importance of government response to emergencies both natural and man-made.”
DOGE caucus roadmap for cutting government waste emerges after closed-door meeting: ‘great synergy’
The Congressional DOGE Caucus’ plans for cutting government waste are shifting into focus after the group’s second-ever closed-door meeting on Wednesday. Caucus leaders are splitting lawmakers into eight working groups focused on different sectors for waste-cutting. Those will focus on retirement, social and family safety nets, emergency supplemental funding, energy permitting, homeland security, defense and veterans, the workforce, and government operations, according to a document viewed by Fox News Digital. Co-chairs Aaron Bean, R-Fla., and Pete Sessions, R-Texas, challenged lawmakers in the room to introduce at least one bill related to government efficiency in the 119th Congress. REPUBLICANS GIVE DETAILS FROM CLOSED-DOOR MEETINGS WITH DOGE’S MUSK, RAMASWAMY Both told Fox News Digital that it was just one of the coordinated efforts the caucus is planning as it seeks to be the legislative support for the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) being co-led by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy. “We’re going to aim for a day where we will drop pieces of legislation, a day where we will go on the floor and speak to the American people,” Sessions told Fox News Digital. Bean expounded on the idea, labeling it “DOGE Days.” “We’re going to have a day where we hopefully can draw up 20, 30 bills and all the DOGE members come forward, boom, we’re on them,” Bean said. “We’re going to have great team work and great synergy and momentum.” They asked attendees to fill out a survey, a copy of which was obtained by Fox News Digital, designating which working groups they would like to be a part of. DANIEL PENNY TO BE TAPPED FOR CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL BY HOUSE GOP LAWMAKER During the closed-door meeting, lawmakers took turns to discuss their own ideas for cutting government waste as well. Rep. Jay Obernolte, R-Calif., called for a constitutional amendment requiring Congress to balance the federal budget. And Rep. Jeff Van Drew, R-N.J., suggested cutting off child tax credit eligibility for illegal immigrants. “Currently, we’re not nearly careful enough… where illegal aliens are getting a child tax credit, childcare tax credit. That’s ridiculous. You know, so those are my point was those are the easy things to do, the low-hanging fruit,” Van Drew told Fox News Digital when asked about his meeting comments. Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, who is leading the DOGE effort on the Senate side and also attended the Wednesday House meeting, urged lawmakers there to work with their counterparts in the upper chamber on bicameral bills. Lawmakers have been enthusiastic about the goals laid out by Musk and Ramaswamy’s new panel. Commissioned by President-elect Trump, the group is an advisory panel aimed at recommending where the executive branch can cut government waste. The DOGE Caucus is a bid to make Trump’s cost-cutting initiatives permanent through legislation. The group opened and email tip line which Bean and Sessions said has already received over 15,000 emails. Bean said he was surprised but pleased at the enthusiasm. Sessions added, “I’ve gotten probably 200 letters here that were really typed out, and some were written, that said, ‘Thank you for doing this. I’d like you to hear from me.’ And this is an acknowledgement back to the American people who have skin in the game also.”