SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) -- A Senate confirmation hearing for Secretary of Homeland Security nominee, South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem, is planned to begin at 8:00 a.m. CST on Friday, January 17. Initially planned to be held on January 15, the hearing was postponed "due to a delay on the FBI background check for Governor Noem," a committee aide told The Hill. You will be able to watch the hearing live in this story on Friday, January 17. U.S. citizenship is now a focus of GOP legislators The committee Noem will face for her hearing is the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee. This committee is chaired by Sen. Rand Paul (R) of Kentucky, with the other Republican members being Senators Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, James Lankford of Oklahoma, Rick Scott of Florida, Josh Hawley of Missouri, Bernie Moreno of Ohio, Joni Ernst of Iowa and Tim Scott of South Carolina. The ranking Democrat on the committee is Sen. Gary Peters of Michigan, with other Democrat members being Senators Margaret Hassan of New Hampshire, Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, Andy Kim of New Jersey, Ruben Gallego of Arizona and Elissa Slotkin of Michigan. The makeup of the committee could impact just how the hearing goes for Noem, according to Northern State University political science professor Jon Schaff. Schaff pointed to recent contentious hearings for other nominees such as those of Pam Bondi for Attorney General and Pete Hegseth for Secretary of Defense. "What we've seen so far this week, especially in the higher profile nominations, the Democrats have been very combative and have attempted certainly to sway public opinion regarding these Trump nominees," said Schaff. Democrats on the Armed Services Committee and Judiciary Committee include Senators such as Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Tammy Duckworth and Dick Durbin of Illinois, Cory Booker of New Jersey and Adam Schiff of California, many of which, in Schaff's words, "tend to want to go for the jugular -- who really like to shake it up in committees." The Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee makeup is much less intimidating, to Schaff. "That's a pretty easy committee," he said. "Let me say this. I think if you look at the membership of the Homeland Security Government Affairs Committee, I wouldn't put the Democrats who are on that committee in the category of the most partisan or ideological Democrats." Schaff also indicated that Noem may not be the biggest target of Senate Democrats. "I think Noem might benefit from the fact that the Pete Hegseth confirmation hearings have been going on this week," said Schaff. "He's probably at this point -- along with Tulsi Gabbard and Robert Kennedy -- the most controversial of the Trump nominees." Schaff likened the hearing for nominees like Hegseth and Kennedy as "main stage" hearings. "Then some of these other confirmation hearings are going to be on a side stage," he said. Schaff indicated that on the scale of controversial nominees, Noem likely lies somewhere in the middle. Some like Hegseth and Gabbard are likely to face vocal opposition, while others, Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio for Secretary of State, for example, may sail right through. "Kristi Noem's basic resume, on paper, is almost exactly what you'd expect out of a cabinet level nomination," Schaff said, though he recognized she also came with some controversies. "We all know as South Dakotans that there has been at least a certain level of controversy around the Noem governorship," Schaff said. "Things such as, you know, the accusations about using her influence to help her family members or let's not forget Cricket the dog and maybe most damning, coming out of her book, the stories about meeting Kim Jong Un of North Korea, which turns out apparently not to be true." While these issues, along with criticism over her handling of COVID-19 in South Dakota and her poor track record of tribal relations may be points of criticism, they are also not necessarily disqualifying for Secretary of Homeland. Some of these could be larger issues for a nominee for something like Secretary of State, Heath and Human Services or Secretary of Interior. "Well, they're certainly not under the purview of the Secretary of Homeland Security, though some of these things would simply be matters of basic character and integrity," Schaff said. While there may not be much that is obviously disqualifying about Noem, there is not much that makes her overly qualified either. Schaff mentioned some of Noem's resume which looks good on paper; being in Congress, being a state level executive -- but noted some limitations. "You can't say she's had a lot of experience in Homeland Security issues," said Schaff. After all, while Noem is a governor, she is not the governor of a border state. "Homeland Security issues are not, at least naturally, under the purview of a governor of South Dakota," Schaff added. "And as I think of the committee assignments that Kristi Noem had when she was a member of Congress, they didn't deal directly with homeland security issues." He added that while Noem has bones in her closet -- if not a full skeleton -- he thinks she can likely negotiate them. "All she really has to do is survive," the confirmation, said Schaff. "I think she's a talented enough politician that even under the attacks that are likely to come her way, she can she can probably survive those."