Kristi Noem, South Dakota's firebrand Republican governor, faced questioning Friday at her confirmation hearing to be secretary of homeland security. Noem, the daughter of a farmer and a former representative from South Dakota,

Noem's role as Homeland Security secretary is expected to be more limited in scope than her predecessors’, sources familiar with the Trump transition tell NBC News.

President-elect Donald Trump's choice for Homeland Security secretary portrayed illegal immigration as an "invasion" and the U.S.-Mexico border as a "war zone" during a U.S. Senate confirmation on Friday where she pledged to back Trump's hard line on immigration.