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Kristi Noem got her current job as DHS secretary because she is one of Donald Trump’s most loyal supporters. Noem has never worked in homeland security before, but that didn’t stop Trump from nominating her or the Senate from confirming her.
Noem gave America a dose of the sort of intellect that is now running government agencies on Sunday when she tried to defend Elon Musk.
Things quickly went downhill:
BASH: So, yes, they have access?
NOEM: I think it’s important. This is essentially an audit of the federal government, which is very powerful and needs to have happened.
That agency — and one of the things I have been very clear to the appropriators in the Senate and the House is, please give me the authority to reprogram funds. There’s funds that are going…
BASH: Right, but that’s different from him having access to personal data that is housed inside DHS.
NOEM: The president has authorized him to have access to that.
BASH: And you feel comfortable with that?
NOEM: Absolutely.
BASH: I remember a time when Republicans were very careful about and worried about the government, particularly unelected people, having access to personal data.
NOEM: Well, we can’t trust our government anymore. That’s our — yes, oh, absolutely.
BASH: But you are the government now.
NOEM: Yes, that’s what I’m saying, is that the American people now are saying that we have had our personal information shared and out there in the public.
BASH: But now Elon Musk has access to it. You just said he does.
NOEM: Yes, but Elon Musk is part of the administration that is helping us identify where we can find savings and what we can do.
And he has gone through the processes to make sure that he has the authority that the president has granted him.
BASH: But you’re totally comfortable with it?
NOEM: I am today by the work that he’s doing by identifying waste, fraud, and abuse.
And his information that he has is looking at programs, not focusing on personal data and information.
BASH: Not focusing on it, but he has access to it.
NOEM: We will be continuing to talk to him about what all he has access to.
But this audit needs to happen to make sure that we are going through a process that adds integrity back into these programs. And people’s personal information has been out there in these case works that have been closed for a long time that people are getting responses now that they haven’t had before.
Video:
The Republican Party used to be the party of small government and privacy. Kristi Noem could not square the circle when Dana Bash said that Republicans used to be the party of privacy, but Republicans are violating privacy as they are now the government.
Kristi Noem sounded like a fool because she couldn’t explain supporting allowing Elon Musk to violate the privacy of every American when Republicans claim to be small government, but Trump is carrying out a big government attack on the entire country.
It is important for the media to keep asking Trump officials these questions because the Trump administration can’t defend what Musk is doing and when they are pressed, it exposes their un-American agenda.
What do you think of Kristi Noem’s answer? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
