DHS Sec. Kristi Noem Touts Early Trump Admin. Actions, Efforts To Secure Border

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DHS Secretary Kristi Noem delivers her opening statement at today's Senate Homeland Security Committee hearing.

Transcript

00:00Mr. Chairman. Let's start again. Secretary Noem, you are recognized for your remarks.

00:04Okay. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you, Ranking Member Peters, for the honor of allowing me to be here today.

00:10Thank you to all the senators for your participation and oversight into the Department of Homeland Security.

00:15I'm looking forward to visiting with you about all of the accomplishments that we've been able to tackle

00:20these first several months of this Trump administration.

00:24I'm also blessed to have my husband with me today, so I thank him for his support and my family's support as well

00:29as I fill this role for our country.

00:31Having previously served eight years as a member of Congress, it's my distinct honor to be on this side of the dais today

00:38as the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security.

00:40Today, I'm proud to discuss all of our accomplishments since President Trump took office,

00:44and he has set us a full agenda as a priority.

00:48High on the list is the mandate and was the mandate on the very first day to secure our southern border

00:53and to start deporting illegal criminal aliens.

00:56The border crisis is the biggest problem that was facing our country,

01:00and it was one that was imperative to fixing for our nation's future.

01:05We're solving this crisis at a record pace, and we have delivered the most secure border in American history.

01:11We've obtained near-complete operational control of the border with daily encounters down 93 percent

01:17since President Trump took office.

01:19And because we're fixing this biggest challenge so quickly,

01:21President Trump can focus on other priorities as well and problems that are facing the American people.

01:27Let's just look at the last 10 days.

01:29Last week, he signed a historic prescription drug reduction in pricing executive order

01:35that will slash prices for the American people.

01:37After that, he went on a trip to completely rewrite America's relationship with the Middle East.

01:43During this trip, he secured trillions of dollars of new investments in the United States

01:47with several Middle Eastern countries.

01:50He's also taking steps towards rebuilding our relationship with Syria.

01:54The last living American hostage held by Hamas, Eden Alexander,

01:58was finally released and returned home to his family.

02:01He announced major new trade deals with both China and the United Kingdom.

02:04And just yesterday, President Trump jump-started ceasefire talks between Russia and Ukraine.

02:09And with only the kind of leadership that President Trump could provide,

02:13we prevented the breakout of an all-out war between India and Pakistan.

02:18These historic accomplishments were possible because President Trump confronted right away the chaos at the southern border.

02:26President Trump can continue to not only make America safe,

02:29but he can also continue to work to make the entire world safer.

02:33Now, at the Department of Homeland Security under President Trump,

02:36we've already delivered a drastic turnaround in homeland security,

02:39from the southern border to our Coast Guard to cyberspace.

02:43And we're just getting started.

02:45The secure border has allowed our men and women of law enforcement at DHS

02:49to zero in on fighting cartels and their illicit activities.

02:53Under President Trump, we have designated six cartels and four dangerous criminal gangs

02:58as foreign terrorist organizations.

03:01This has allowed us to take a whole-of-government approach

03:03to going after these murderers and these drug traffickers.

03:06In March, fentanyl traffic at the border fell 54 percent compared to the previous year.

03:13And once again, the United States is enforcing immigration laws to arrest, identify, detain, and remove

03:18dangerous illegal alien criminals.

03:21We're prioritizing those that are a public safety threat to people,

03:24especially those who are affiliated with the terrorist organizations MS-13 and Trende Aragua.

03:30Customs and Border Protection has worked to enforce President Trump's America First Trade Agenda

03:35and the Biden administration's trade policies that hollowed out America's industrial base have been changed.

03:42We are no longer shipping our jobs overseas.

03:44Instead, we're using tariffs as an effective negotiating tool.

03:47The Department of Homeland Security is reforming emergency management in this country.

03:53We have the FEMA Review Council, which will be doing the work to make recommendations

03:57and also work with this body to change the department into something that actually gives more local and state control.

04:04And that first council meeting is today.

04:07We are also taking steps to defend the nation's transportation systems, which are vulnerable targets for attack.

04:12The Transportation Security Administration is responsible for ensuring all of the safety of individuals who travel.

04:20In a single day, there are 45,000 flights and nearly 2.9 million Americans and passengers in the United States.

04:28We're also fulfilling our obligation and did do so to implement Real ID, which was enacted and put in law over 20 years ago.

04:36Validated IDs secure travel, safeguard our elections,

04:39and help make sure that we never experience another tragedy like 9-11 again.

04:44And as technology advances, so do the threats to our nation.

04:48That's why cybersecurity is so crucial to our future.

04:52Countries like Communist China have the capability and the intent to infiltrate and to potentially disrupt our critical infrastructure systems.

05:00Despite these threats, the Biden administration instead used CISA to promote politics and police speech.

05:06Under President Trump, we've been working to get CISA back on its intended cybersecurity mission.

05:12The Coast Guard is the only branch of the U.S. Armed Forces that is under the umbrella of the Department of Homeland Security.

05:19It has many missions with specialized needs.

05:22And as we secure our southern border, the cartels have shifted their activities out into our maritime borders.

05:28The Coast Guard has already surpassed fiscal year 2024's drug interdiction numbers just since President Trump took office.

05:36And they have also excelled at search and rescue while interdiction of illicit substances as well.

05:41Still, the Coast Guard is facing our greatest readiness crisis since World War II.

05:47We have a plan to reinvigorate this critical component to make sure they're ready for the future.

05:53And with Force Design 2028, we will transform the Coast Guard into a more agile, capable, and responsive force.

06:00We're making sure that they have the resources and that they have the vision to lead and to be the point of the spear in the future.

06:06Now, since I took office, one of the responsibilities that I have is in reforming the Secret Service.

06:12We've reassessed the Secret Service's needs.

06:14We've gotten recruitment away from DEI recruitment that the Biden administration was doing.

06:19And we're making sure that they're equipped and ready to take on the task of protecting our future leaders and the leaders of today.

06:26So, Mr. Chairman, I want to thank you and thank this committee for your time today

06:29and allowing me to get the facts out into this important issues and topics that we'll be discussing today and to visit with this committee.

06:37I'm so grateful to the men and women of the Department of Homeland Security for all the good work they're doing to serve the American public.

06:43They're examples of bravery and patriotism and dedication.

06:47It's our responsibility to continue to provide for them the resources that they need to continue doing the important work that they do.

06:54And with that, Mr. Chairman, I look forward to answering your questions and I yield back.

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