'Coward who backstabs her own party': Conservative outlet turns on Trump's DHS pick

The conservative news publication The Federalist slammed South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem with a blistering takedown Tuesday that referred to her as a “coward” who was underserving to lead the Department of Homeland Security.

“While Noem is certainly skilled at promoting herself, she doesn’t have the courage required for this role,” Joy Pullmann, an executive editor at The Federalist, wrote in an editorial after news spread that President-elect Donald Trump selected Noem, who famously shot her pet dog to death, for the cabinet position.

In her brutal rebuke, Pullman took issue with several actions Noem took as governor and concluded her “track record is not the behavior of a leader serious enough” to head the agency. The publication referenced Noem's decisions in favor of state lobbyists involving a “corrupt health-industrial complex,” which Pullman criticized the Trump loyalist for supporting.

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“And when she was called out on this by the likes of Tucker Carlson, Noem’s defense was that she’s scared to engage in lawsuits on behalf of Americans’ obvious best interests,” Pullman wrote. “It should go without saying that anyone who is scared of lawsuits should not be part of the Trump administration, especially anyone involved in combatting illegal immigration.”

She continued: “Noem has an undeserved reputation for courage because she was the only governor not to shut down her state in the name of Covid. But that reputation is completely undeserved. The truth is, she attempted to get the power to shut down South Dakota, but the state Legislature refused to give it to her.”

The author concluded that Noem “hasn’t been able to stand for much of anything as governor, which puts in doubt her ability to take a hard line at DHS,” before delivering perhaps the most stinging line of the piece.

“Noem is a coward who backstabs her own party," she said.