SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — As then-Gov. Kristi Noem crisscrossed the country — stumping for President Donald Trump and boosting her political profile beyond her home state — she refused to reveal what her extensive travel was costing taxpayers.
In the weeks since Noem became Trump’s Homeland Security secretary, that mystery has been solved: South Dakota repeatedly picked up the tab for expenses related to her jet-setting campaigning.
An Associated Press analysis of recently released travel records found more than $150,000 in expenses tied to Noem’s political and personal activity and not South Dakota business. That included numerous trips to Palm Beach, Florida, where Trump resided before retaking office.
Most of those costs covered the state-provided security that accompanied Noem, irrespective of the reason for her travel. Over her six years as governor, AP’s analysis shows, South Dakota covered more than $640,000 in travel-related costs incurred by the governor’s office.
The expenditures include $7,555 in airfare for a six-day trip to Paris, where she gave a speech at a right-wing gathering, costs associated with a bear hunt in Canada with her niece and a book tour that included a stop in New York. An additional $2,200 stemmed from a controversial trip last year to Houston for dental work she showcased on Instagram.
Expenses spark uproar
The expenses, released last month following a lawsuit by The Dakota Scout, have incensed Republicans in the deep-red state, with several GOP lawmakers accusing Noem of tapping state funds to fuel her own political ascendancy.
The uproar comes as the Trump administration seeks to eliminate waste, fraud and abuse in government and as Noem has taken over DHS, the third-largest federal agency, with a budget and workforce many times the size of South Dakota's.
The spending “offends a lot of people,” said Dennis Daugaard, a former Republican South Dakota governor, who added that costs generated by Noem’s ambition for higher office could’ve been paid with campaign funds.
Taffy Howard, a GOP state senator who clashed with Noem over her refusal to disclose her travel expenses, expressed shock at the price tag. “It seems like an incredible amount of money,” Howard told AP.
A spokesman for Noem, Tim Murtaugh, declined to answer detailed questions about the expenses but did not dispute that some of the travel lacked an apparent connection to state business. There’s no indication the former governor broke any laws having the state foot the bill for security expenses — even on trips that critics said benefited her more than South Dakota taxpayers.
“Unfortunately, bad guys tend to make threats against high-profile public officials," Murtaugh said. “When it was a political or personal trip, she paid for her own travel out of her political or personal funds.”
Josie Harms, a spokesperson for Noem’s gubernatorial successor, said security requirements were “a matter of state business no matter where the governor may be."
“The scope of that security is not up to the governor,” Harms added.
During her years in office, Noem frequently said that releasing the travel expenses would jeopardize her safety.
Lax disclosure requirements
South Dakota has relatively lax disclosure requirements for such travel expenses. Governors from both parties have used state funds to finance the travel expenses of their security details and staffers.
Critics called on Washington’s Jay Inslee, a Democrat, to reimburse the state for similar costs resulting from his unsuccessful 2019 presidential run. And Ron DeSantis, Florida's GOP governor, also came under fire for racking up hefty travel tabs for his security detail during his bid for higher office.
Murtaugh, a spokesman for Noem in her personal capacity, questioned why Democratic governors were not being scrutinized for their travel on behalf of former Vice President Kamala Harris, their party's 2024 presidential nominee.
“They maintained aggressive political schedules on behalf of Kamala Harris but somehow escape media attention for costs associated with that, while Kristi Noem is being held to a different standard?” Murtaugh wrote in an email.
The more than 3,000 pages of records released to the Scout by the state auditor included hotel receipts, restaurant bills and credit card statements.
Some expenses have no link to state business
The AP obtained the same records, as well as dozens of additional documents that show state officials acknowledged that “campaigning for Trump is not an official duty” of the governor in denying one of several requests to release her travel expenses.
The receipts are heavily redacted, so it’s not always clear who incurred the expense. Only 30 items totaling $2,056.72 were charged on the governor’s state-issued Mastercard, according to her attorney.
Some expenses seemingly had no link to state business, such as $21 hotel-room movie purchases. It’s also unclear who attended meals that included unnamed “federal officials.”
The state auditor questioned some of the charges, including the governor’s office’s use of a luxury airline travel agency for a flight to Paris and a $2,000 change fee.
The state also ran up more than $3,300 in late fees and interest. The record doesn’t indicate how much was paid in overtime for staff and security accompanying Noem on her political excursions.
“Spending for security detail, as well as where and when they are deemed necessary, falls under the discretion of the governor,” Jenna Latham, a supervisor in the state auditor's office, wrote to AP in an email.
Most of the expenses were incurred as Noem became a rising star in Trump’s “Make America Great Again” universe and a contender to be his 2024 running mate. Her fortunes appeared to have suffered a blow after she revealed in a memoir that she shot and killed her farm dog, Cricket, after it scared away some game during a pheasant hunt.
This is not the first time Noem’s travel has come under the microscope. A state government accountability board in 2022 had requested an investigation into her use of the state plane to attend political events, but a prosecutor found no grounds for charges.
State known for frugality
The records raise questions about the necessity of the travel and the secrecy surrounding the expenses.
Noem’s office refused to release records related to a 2020 speaking engagement at AmpFest, a gathering of Trump supporters near Miami, telling a public-records requester the trip was “not for the purpose of the governor’s official duties” and no receipts existed.
But the newly released records include several transactions in South Florida on those days, including a rental car and a stay at the posh Trump National Doral Miami. Days later, South Dakota picked up the tab for gasoline and hotel rooms for Noem's security so she could speak at a Republican fundraiser in New Hampshire.
“Noem’s travel doesn’t pass the smell test,” said Viki Harrison, program director for Common Cause, a nonpartisan group that seeks to limit big money in politics. “There should be a huge firewall between campaigning and official business.”
Noem’s predecessors traveled less frequently in a low-tax state that values frugality, both on the farm and from elected officials. Daugaard, whose official statue features him pinching a penny, said he reimbursed staff for purchases like ice cream.
Former Gov. Mike Rounds, now South Dakota’s junior U.S. senator, said he tried to keep partisan activity at “arm’s length” from state resources and was careful about what he put on the government’s dime.
Such thriftiness was required, he said, because his state is “so tight on everything to begin with, just in terms of having enough money to pay the bills.”
___ Goodman reported from Miami and Mustian from New York. Associated Press writers Stephen Groves in Washington and John Hanna in Topeka, Kansas, contributed to this report.
Joshua Goodman, Jim Mustian And Sarah Raza, The Associated Press
