Fact brief: Was Kristi Noem against federal control of the South Dakota National Guard?

This South Dakota News Watch Fact Brief speaks for itself.

Fact brief: Was Noem against federal control of SD National Guard?
By Michael Klinski, South Dakota News Watch<

Yes.

Former Gov. Kristi Noem said in 2024 there would be “war on our hands” if former President Biden federalized South Dakota’s National Guard and stopped them from performing duties at the U.S.-Mexico border.

“If (Biden) is willing to do that, and to take away my authority as governor as commander in chief of those National Guard (troops), boy, we do have a war on our hands,” Noem said Feb. 4, 2024, on Fox News.

Noem tweeted Feb. 6, 2024, that federalizing the Guard would be a “direct attack on states’ rights.”

During an interview on CBS News in early June 2025, however, Noem backed President Trump’s call to federalize the California National Guard after Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations sparked protests in Los Angeles.

National guards were also federalized without a governor’s permission in 1957 to enforce school integration in Arkansas and in 1965 to protect civil rights marchers.

This fact brief responds to conversations such as this one.

Sources

Newsweek, Republican Governor Warns Against Federalizing National Guard at Border

X, Kristi Noem interview with Fox News on Feb. 4, 2024

X, Kristi Noem tweet on Feb. 6, 2024

CBS News, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem says "we're not going to let a repeat of 2020 happen" amid L.A. crackdown

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This story was produced by South Dakota News Watch, an independent, nonprofit organization. Read more stories and donate at sdnewswatch.org and sign up for an email to get stories when they're published. Contact Michael Klinski at [email protected].

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