FEMA provides funds to governments and individuals to rebuild after natural disasters, but Trump has criticized it for being too slow and costly.

Political tensions and questions swirling around the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) promise to be a key test for South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (R) as she takes over the department that houses the agency.

South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem, nominee for Secretary of Homeland Security, vowed to overhaul FEMA's disaster response times, enforce stricter in-office policies and eliminate political bias in relief efforts during her confirmation hearing.

Governors and state legislatures may have to bolster their natural disaster response and recovery efforts in the coming years as President Donald Trump looks for ways to shift the federal government’s role onto states.

The Senate voted on Saturday to confirm Kristi Noem as homeland security secretary, putting a former South Dakota governor in charge of the department at the heart of President Trump’s agenda to crack down on immigration. The vote was 59 to 34, and she was sworn-in on Saturday afternoon by the Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.

The state of South Dakota has received notice that it could be sued by McCook Lake property owners, who say their community suffered catastrophic damage as a direct result of flood diversion efforts carried out by state and local officials.

The House of Representatives advanced a bill 49–19 that would ban the use of eminent domain for carbon dioxide pipelines, sending the legislation to the state

The US Senate on Saturday confirmed South Dakota governor Kristi Noem to lead the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), a key agency in President Donald Trump's push to clamp down on illegal immigration.

USA TODAY analysis finds 3.3 million Americans live in areas with "very high" wildfire risk and 14.8 million more at “relatively high” risk.

The Senate has confirmed Kristi Noem as homeland security secretary, putting the South Dakota governor in charge of a sprawling agency that is essential to national security and President Donald Trump’s plans to clamp down on illegal immigration.

The two term South Dakota Gov. was tapped by Trump in Nov. and will be key in enacting the new president's mass deportation plan.