Former Homeland Security secretary Kristi Noem and her husband, Bryon Noem, accumulated millions of dollars in debt before their ascent to national prominence, according to a federal financial disclosure cited by The New York Post. The couple listed debts ranging from $2.6 million to $3.25 million, dating back to 2020.
The debt stemmed from six loans, five of which were taken out to support Bryon Noem’s insurance and car wash businesses between 2015 and 2022. The remaining loan was a joint mortgage on their personal residence, valued between $101,000 and $250,000.
Kristi Noem, a former rancher, congresswoman, and governor of South Dakota, was dismissed by President Donald Trump last month after a controversial tenure at the Department of Homeland Security. Her time in office was marked by the disastrous Operation Metro Surge in Minneapolis, which resulted in the deaths of two American citizens, and a scandal involving her husband’s cross-dressing fetish.
Noem’s political ambitions were further damaged by her 2024 memoir, in which she boasted about shooting a puppy, and an alleged extramarital affair with her top adviser, which both parties denied. She was demoted to a role as Special Envoy for The Shield of the Americas, replaced by former Oklahoma senator Markwayne Mullin.
