Kristi Noem Starts Confirmation Hearing With Major Makeup Fail As She's Hounded By Scandal

They say to dress for the job you want, and Governor Kristi Noem's excessive political ambitions were on display in the makeup she wore to her confirmation hearing. Noem was selected by incoming president Donald Trump to be his Secretary of Homeland Security, and perhaps in preparation for the onslaught of questions that would be lobbed her way, Noem went with a thick, protective layer of foundation that took the term "cakey" to DEFCON 5. While USA Today reported that Noem had plenty to say about Trump's proposed mass deportations and even promised to release information about the assassination attempt on Trump, we couldn't help but focus on her weaponized eyebrows (and speculate again about her face fillers). Hey, at least she didn't double down with one of her inappropriate outfits.

Given that the Republican party seems to have become the party of altered outward appearances, and that Noem's new boss himself enjoys a well-done-up face himself, it still felt like a little much for a job interview that appears to be in the bag. Republicans have a 53-47 majority in the Senate, which means that she should have no trouble being nominated if everyone votes by party line. Still, Noem is facing criticism from Democrats, with Sen. Richard Blumenthal from Connecticut telling ABC News that he has "serious doubts" that Noem could lead, "this huge organization of such serious consequence to national security." While competence on the job is what Noem had to answer for, she's also hounded by a lot more controversy than her overblown makeup job.

Kristi Noem may soon be responsible for keeping America safe, but she may want to start with her own image. The South Dakotan governor has stepped into controversy after controversy ever since she entered the Republican picture as a rising star in Donald Trump's circus — er, circle of admirers. Noem first stepped into the Trump spotlight as COVID-19 raged, when, as the governor of South Dakota, she refused to issue a mask mandate. The stance on personal freedoms got her a fast pass into Trump's inner circle, so much so that she was once thought of as a potential VP pick to replace Mike Pence during Trump's 2020 re-election. Though it ultimately did not come to pass, Noem has used every opportunity as a stepping stone, no matter the scandal.

There was the time that she wrote in her memoir, "No Going Back: The Truth on What's Wrong with Politics and How We Move America Forward," about murdering their family dog in cold blood, and then defended herself on X, formerly known as Twitter, by plugging her book for those who want, "more real, honest, and politically INcorrect stories." Oh, and also the apparently widely-known "secret" that she and former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski have been having an affair for years, with a source telling the New York Post that one such PDA session was "so absurdly blatant and public." While both parties have disavowed any such infidelity, it certainly has made Noem's marriage to husband Bryon Noem pretty weird. 

But who are we to criticize? If there's one underlying thread to Noem's continued success, it's that her controversial choices have only ever been rewarded — so in terms of makeup, maybe more is more.