The confirmation hearing for South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem (Republican), President-elect Trump's nominee to head the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), has been postponed for two days.
Noem is scheduled to appear before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on Friday at 9 a.m., and was previously scheduled to appear before the committee on Wednesday.
A committee aide told The Hill that the hearing was postponed “due to delays in the FBI background check on Governor Noem.”
Nomu is not the only putative candidate whose hearing has been delayed due to administrative procedures.
The hearing for former North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum (Republican), who was nominated by President Trump to be Secretary of the Interior, has been postponed for two days.
Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chairman Mike Lee (R-Utah) said the delay was due to administrative delays at the Office of Government Ethics (OGE).
“Despite his compliance and the realization that the Energy and Natural Resources Committee held the hearing in accordance with all regulations, OGE has yet to complete its review. This bureaucratic delay is unacceptable.” said Mr. Lee.
Senate Majority Leader John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) said on Sunday that the hearing for former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (R-Hawaii), who was selected by President Trump to lead the U.S. intelligence community, was “procedural.'' It has been postponed due to “problems”.
“It's a procedural matter right now with the Office of Government Ethics,” Barrasso said in an interview this weekend. “We were hoping to hold a hearing later this week. It looks like it will be next week.”
A spokesperson for the Office of Government Ethics did not discuss specific incidents, but instructed The Hill: Documents on the website The past two presidential transitions have shown that filings started earlier on average.
