Kristi Noem hearing delay could cause security concerns for Super Bowl and Mardi Gras, governor says
The two-day delay to South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem’s Senate confirmation hearing could have an adverse impact on security arrangements for the Super Bowl and Mardi Gras, Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry has warned.
Noem, Donald Trump’s choice to lead the Department of Homeland Security, had been due to appear before the Senate’s Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on Wednesday, only for the hearing to be postponed until Friday, a suspension blamed on the FBI’s background check on her taking longer than expected.
“Governor Noem has expeditiously completed all her paperwork, but we are waiting for the FBI to complete their portion of the paperwork,” an insider told Politico earlier this week.
But Governor Landry has warned even that short delay could complicate the organization of safety precautions for the two showpiece events, which are being held in New Orleans in the coming weeks as the city continues to reel from the terror attack that took place on New Year’s Day when a man rammed a car into a crowd on Bourbon Street in its storied French Quarter, killing 15 people and injuring 35 more.
“The game is on the line and we don’t know who the starting quarterback is going to be,” Landry said, according to NOLA.com.
“I’m being selfish here for the state of Louisiana. Right now, she’s the most important person to me.”
Even if Noem is to emerge from the hearing unscathed by hostile questioning from Democrats on the Republican-majority panel, a vote on her candidacy for the role in the president-elect’s cabinet is still at least a week away.
The Super Bowl is scheduled for February 9 in the New Orleans Caesars Superdome and festivities surrounding the big game will begin in the days beforehand, with fan events already organized at the city’s Ernest Morial Convention Center, in the French Quarter and in the Warehouse District.
Mardi Gras this year is meanwhile set for March 4 and will once more be a huge draw, attracting tourists to southern Louisiana from across the world as it does every spring.
Both events have been granted the highest level of security: a Level One Special Event Assessment Rating (SEAR-1), which means numerous federal resources will be made available including bomb-sniffing dogs, cybersecurity checks, air patrols and tactical response teams.
“All those funds, all the coordination, flow through the Department of Homeland Security,” Landry pointed out.
“I would like to be able to brief the secretary, that would be Secretary Noem, next week after the inauguration.
“Every day we wait is a day I can’t brief her about the event so we can have a discussion to ensure continuing continuity in securing the city for that event,” he said, alluding to the Super Bowl.
“And then we have to do it again for Mardi Gras. That’s something else I want to be able to discuss with, hopefully, Secretary Noem.”
