U.S. Senate confirmed Kristi Noem as homeland security secretary on Saturday, putting the South Dakota governor in charge of a sprawling agency that is essential to national security and President Donald Trump's plans to clamp down on illegal immigration.

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem is set to face senators during her confirmation hearing as she vies to become the next homeland security secretary

Kristi Noem was confirmed by the U.S. Senate as President Donald Trump's Homeland Security secretary on Saturday, putting into position a key member of the Republican's Cabinet as he launches a wide-ranging immigration crackdown.

The Senate confirmed Kristi Noem as the head of the Department of Homeland Security on Saturday with some Democrats backing the South Dakota governor's nomination. The chamber voted 59-34 to confirm Noem who will head up a federal agency that will be at the forefront of President Donald Trump's crackdown on immigration.

The Senate confirmed Kristi Noem as secretary of the Department of Homeland Security on Saturday, voting to give President Donald Trump another Cabinet official who has pledged to help carry out his aggressive crackdown on illegal immigration. The bipartisan vote was 59-34. No Republicans opposed Noem's nomination.

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.

The Senate is heading toward a vote on confirming Kristi Noem as homeland security secretary, putting the South Dakota governor in charge of a sprawling agency that is essential to national security a

The former South Dakota governor takes the helm of DHS as the Trump administration intensifies its immigration crackdown and pushes for stricter border policies.

World: Noem, 53, a Trump ally and second-term governor of the north central US state, takes control of the US agency overseeing border enforcement and migrant deportations.

Washington DC: The US Senate voted to confirm Kristi Noem as the Homeland Security Secretary in the new Trump administration. The installation of a longtime Trump ally at the helm of an agency is poised to play a central role in the president's promised immigration crackdown, according to CNN.

Kristi Noem, US President Donald Trump's nominee for Secretary of Homeland Security, (center), greets guests in the Indian Treaty Room of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House campus in Washington on Jan 25. (AP)