SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) -- "Senator, I look forward to working with you." That was the repeated statement of South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem as she sat before the U.S. Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee for her confirmation hearing for the role of Secretary of Homeland Security. Overall, Noem had a smooth ride through the committee on Friday morning, with most of the discussion across the nearly three-hour hearing centering on border security, relief funding and terrorism. Watertown teacher arrested for ‘simple assault’ Two members of the committee, Republican Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina and Democrat Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, were absent. Beyond them, however, Noem took questions from the members for nearly three hours. Her refrain of "I look forward to working with you," was a natural response to the continued requests for assurance by senators on the committee that, if she is confirmed, she will indeed work with them by providing information and helping to craft legislation. The first questions of the hearing came from Democrat Sen. Gary Peters of Michigan, who sought commitment from Noem to fully staff and equip not just the southern border, but also the northern border with Canada. Noem replied that it is important to focus on all borders and ports of entry. Moving to the subject of terrorism, Peters broached the subject of the recent New Year's Eve attack in New Orleans. "DHS and the FBI have consistently said that the most persistent threat to the homeland is from U.S.-based individuals or small groups radicalized by a variety of ideologies," said Peters, going on to ask Noem how she would address the threat of these homegrown terrorists. "Senator, this is a grave concern for our country as we all agree that the number one threat to our homeland security is the southern border," began Noem's reply. This was a trend of the hearing, as most topics, whether they dealt with the northern border, government resources or domestic terror, were often redirected to focus on the U.S.-Mexico border. Noem went on to claim that 382 individuals on the terrorist watchlist have entered the U.S. through the southern border, a stat which she says concerns the governor of Louisiana. New Orleans will host the Super Bowl in February. This would not be the only reference to the NFL, which would come up in conversations around security for the Super Bowl, fear of drone targets and who ought to pay for the enhanced security. Noem did acknowledge -- more than once in the hearing -- that homegrown terror is rising in the U.S., adding that part of the defense should be tracking when citizens leave and re-enter the country. Peters also raised the specter of increasingly aggressive cyber attacks, which teed Noem up to criticize the Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). "The mission of CISA -- is to hunt and harden," said Noem. "CISA's gotten far off mission." There was another common theme throughout the hearing -- criticism by Noem of federal programs or agencies that she says have strayed too far from their designated function. Speaking after Peters was Republican Sen. Rick Scott of Florida, who began his questioning by criticizing current Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. Scott criticized Mayorkas and asked about the importance of transparency and accountability. "People don't trust our federal government. They don't trust our leadership in this current administration that's in the White House right now to tell them the truth," said Noem. The Secret Service, Noem said, is a perfect example: "They need leadership that understands why that Secret Service was created and what it needs to do." Much of the hearing followed this sort of dynamic, from both Republicans and Democrats on the committee. Senators would raise an issue -- cyber security, immigration processing, agency priorities -- then ask Noem if she agrees with the criticism, and if she would work to help fix it. Noem would most often acknowledge the issue, state that she would follow the letter of the law and the U.S. Constitution, and then say, "I look forward to working with you," on the issue in question. Much of the questioning from Republicans on the committee was answered with assurances that when President-elect Donald Trump takes office, the southern border would become fully secure, and all the concerns voiced by the committee would be laid to rest. "Is the southern border secure as we find it today?" asked Republican Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri, teeing Noem up for one such assurance. "Senator, no. The southern border is not secure today, but in just three days we will have a new president in this country, President Donald J. Trump, and he will secure our border," said Noem with a nod. While the hearing was without fireworks or hot exchanges, there were a few instances where Noem was pressed. The first of these instances came with a question by Democrat Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut. He referenced the current wildfires in California and voiced concern over the past and potential future politicization of disaster relief funds under a Trump presidency. "I am really disappointed with some of the statements that President-elect Trump has made, for example saying that "we won't give him" -- referring to Governor [Gavin] Newsom -- "money to put out all his fires, and if we don't give him money to put out fires, he's got a problem." The specter is there, of potential discrimination based on politics," said Blumenthal. What Blumenthal was expressing to Noem was a concern that states like California or his own state could see disaster funds withheld. "It's not an unfounded fear," he said. "In the last administration, there were public reports about President Trump withholding funds from the state of Washington because of his disagreements with Governor [Jay] Inslee." "Well Senator, leadership has consequences, and looking at the tragedy that's happening --" began Noem before being cut off by Blumenthal. "I want to ask you, yes or no, with all due respect," he said, before being cut off in turn by Noem. "Under my leadership at the Department of Homeland Security, there will be no political bias to how disaster relief is delivered," said Noem. Blumenthal pushed Noem further, asking whether, in the event that Trump ordered her to withhold disaster funds for political reasons, she would push back. "I don't speak to hypotheticals, which is what you're asking me to do," said Noem, adding again that she would deliver programs as dictated by law. Blumenthal countered that it was not just a hypothetical, pointing again to the Washington state situation in Trump's first term. "It's based on experience with President Trump withholding money from Washington state," he said. "I need to know from you, will you stand up to the president?" Noem would not answer that question with a yes or no, saying that she doesn't know about the scenario Blumenthal alluded to, but said again that if she is DHS secretary, she will deliver the programs according to the law and without political bias. The next exchange of interest came with the turn of Democrat Sen. Andy Kim of New Jersey. Kim started his portion by asking about the situation regarding Tom Homan, the "Border Czar" who Trump has said will be in charge of the border and immigration as a member of his White House staff. "I guess I'm uncertain about roles and responsibilities regarding your position and Tom Homan's," began Kim. "Who's going to be in charge of the border?" Venhuizen wants to reopen Medicaid expansion fight "Well, the President will be in charge of the border," said Noem. "We will fulfill his agenda." Kim acknowledged that this was a good answer, and likely what he himself would have said. "But I guess I got confused when Trump made the announcement about Tom Homan. He said, "I'm pleased to announce that Tom Homan and said that he's in charge of our nation's borders." So I guess -- how are you going to work with Mr. Homan, what's the division there? I'm trying to get a better sense of who's in charge." Noem herself did not appear able to give a clear answer, instead complimenting Homan as " and incredible human being who has over 30 years of experience." "I'm just trying to think through the decision-making process," interjected Kim, "when it comes to your work, for instance, will he be giving orders directly to CBP, ICE, USCIS?" "Tom Homan has a direct line to the president," Noem answered. "He is an advisor to the president, the border czar. I obviously will be, if nominated and confirmed and put into the position of being the Department of Homeland Security secretary and responsible for the authorities that we have and the actions that we take." Kim said his concern on the issue stems from his desire to have an empowered DHS secretary. "The reason why I mentioned this is I've just seen some quotes from Mr. Homan where he said, 'I'll be making decisions on border security and deportation.'," explained Kim. "He was asked in another interview about the stronger role that he'll play, and he said, 'Absolutely, I'll be making decisions on how we do the border.'" Kim said that if Noem is confirmed, he'll want to talk with and engage with her, but added that if Homan will be the one making decisions, perhaps he should be before the committee as well. "Yeah," said Noem. "Yeah. Tom and I work very well together and talk and communicate all the time, and we'll be working together on a daily basis when we're in our positions under the new administration, and I would say there's no authorities being planned to be taken away from the department or myself if I'm in the role and overseeing." Following this discussion on who will actually be in charge of the border and immigration, Kim raised the topic of terrorism with Noem. "You raised the concerns about terrorism, especially foreign terrorist groups," he said. "I just want to ask you -- what are the major foreign terrorist groups that are out there that we're tracking -- which are the ones that are concerns to us in terms of potentially trying to inspire or a coordinated attack upon us?" Noem attempted to defer this question: "Well, I think we face a lot of threats, Senator, and since I'm not in the role today, I shouldn't get into specifics with you." Kim pushed further. "You can at least give specifics about what organizations that are out there," he said. "I just want to get a sense if you have knowledge." "All the traditional terrorist organizations that have always threatened the United States," Noem answered. "I would say Hamas, ISIS; continuing down that path of those terrorist organizations, but we'll continue to focus though, not just on those, but also the cartels -- their partnership with the Chinese and what they are doing." Noem continued with China, saying it is her belief that they plan to infiltrate the U.S., control the food supply chain, and flood the country with fentanyl to kill our next generation of Americans. "I'm glad we're having that conversation," said Kim, "but the reason why I mentioned this -- the Department of Homeland Security -- when their threat assessment for 2025 lists three organizations; al Qaeda, ISIS, and in particular ISIS Khorasan, and the IRGC and the threat from Iran -- I just want to make sure that in particular, DHS, the primary mission, you know, if we look at the founding legislation, the primary mission, the very first mission is prevent terrorist attacks within the United States and do everything we can to minimize that type of threat." The final point of pressure upon Noem in the hearing came from Democrat Sen. Elissa Slotkin of Michigan. Slotkin is a former CIA officer, and pressed Noem to "call a spade a spade." "To me, it's one thing when there's campaign rhetoric," Slotkin said. "Everyone does that -- but when it comes to actually protecting the country, you do have to be clear and honest about facts and not conflate things." Slotkin came with an example. "The most recent acts of domestic terrorism in New Orleans -- horrible incident -- in Nevada, had nothing to do with migrants," asked Slotkin. "Correct?" "Correct," answered Noem. "They were homegrown American citizens," Slotkin said. "Our most recent examples of domestic terrorism are not what we've spent the majority talking about today; crime from a migrant -- I don't dispute there is crime -- but I just want to know, and I want to hear from you, as an intelligence officer, that you're going to speak about real threats and not blow something up, politicize something, make something more exciting because that's maybe what the president wants to hear -- can you just give me a yes or no, please." "Yes, Senator, I will be as transparent and factual every day with you and the American people as possible," Noem said. Slotkin also pushed Noem on whether she believes in the importance of legal immigration, which Noem confirmed she does, and then moved into the use of federal forces. "President Trump said in November that he is willing to use law enforcement, National Guard or even active-duty military to go after 'the threat from within the United States.' I don't know exactly what he was talking about," Slotkin said, "but we have recent examples." Slotkin brought up the example of 2017, when DHS sent federal law enforcement into the state of Oregon without the coordination of the governor. "Those federal law enforcement officers at the time were putting down threats to federal buildings," said Slotkin. "They weren't wearing insignia -- they weren't wearing any markings, so people were arrested by folks in fatigues with no names, no idea who they were, like right out of a bad Hollywood movie." Slotkin asked Noem, if she were asked by the president to send federal law enforcement into a state without coordinating with the governor of that state, "Would you support that action?" "My job if sworn in as secretary of Homeland Security is to uphold the constitution," said Noem. "So you will push back?" asked Slotkin. "Yes, that will be the oath and the pledge that I will be making," said Noem. Slotkin drove home the point: "You can imagine that if Joe Biden sent in 700 federal law enforcement under Secretary Mayorkas, without coordinating with you, I think we can agree you'd be a little upset." Having had her committee hearing, votes will need to be held to move Noem's confirmation forward.