Kristi Noem hearing delay could cause security concerns for Super Bowl and Mardi Gras, governor says
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South Dakota Governor needs to be in place as soon as possible to oversee safety arrangments for New Orleans events in wake of New Year’s Day terror attack, Jeff Landry argues. The two-day delay to South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem’s Senate confirmation hearing could have an adverse impact on security arrangements for the Super Bowl and Mardi Gras, Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry has warned.
Noem, Donald Trump’s choice to lead the Department of Homeland Security, had been due to appear before the Senate’s Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on Wednesday, only for the hearing to be postponed until Friday, a suspension blamed on the FBI’s background check on her taking longer than expected.
“Governor Noem has expeditiously completed all her paperwork, but we are waiting for the FBI to complete their portion of the paperwork,” an insider told Politico earlier this week. But Governor Landry has warned even that short delay could complicate the organization of safety precautions for the two showpiece events, which are being held in New Orleans in the coming weeks as the city continues to reel from the terror attack that took place on New Year’s Day when a man rammed a car into a crowd on Bourbon Street in its storied French Quarter, killing 15 people and injuring 35 more.
“I’m being selfish here for the state of Louisiana. Right now, she’s the most important person to me.”. Even if Noem is to emerge from the hearing unscathed by hostile questioning from Democrats on the Republican-majority panel, a vote on her candidacy for the role in the president-elect’s cabinet is still at least a week away.
