SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — Gov. Kristi Noem said in her State of the State speech Tuesday that in the “very near future” she may be saying farewell, but she didn’t provide any specifics as to when her term as South Dakota’s chief executive could end.
Noem has been picked by President-elect Donald Trump to be the secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. She still needs to be approved by the U.S. Senate. Noem was scheduled to appear in front of a U.S. Senate committee for a confirmation hearing Wednesday morning. On Tuesday, Noem’s confirmation hearing was postponed to Friday.
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But, on Tuesday, Noem’s speech was the first she has publicly mentioned since Trump’s appointment that she may be leaving the governor’s role.
“I knew that it was always possible that I might not be your governor anymore – whether that circumstance be the result of tragedy or opportunity,” Noem said in her speech.
When she sought a lieutenant governor, she told a joint gathering of South Dakota lawmakers, “I wanted a partner who would lead this state just as I would. I wanted someone who realized that our rights come from God, not from government.”
Her choice, Larry Rhoden, and Noem have been friends for 20 years when Noem was elected to the state House of Representatives.
During his introduction on Tuesday, Rhoden said Noem as a first-year lawmaker had made a misstep in those early days in Pierre. Rhoden, who was House Republican leader at the time, said he noticed that Noem was being ignored by many lawmakers, so he befriended her.
It’s grown into a “friendship that has meant the world to me,” Rhoden said.
Noem said Rhoden has been a partner, advisor, a source of wisdom and laughter during his time as her number-two.
In recognition of Rhoden always stepping to the plate, she gave him a baseball bat on Tuesday.
She described it as a tool that would help Rhoden do the job as governor. The state lawmakers also received bats or baseballs as she trusted them to “knock it out of the park.”
