Political tensions and questions swirling around the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) promise to be a key test for South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (R) as she takes over the department that houses the agency.

Noem, President Trump’s nominee for secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), is on track for Senate confirmation after the chamber's Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee advanced her nomination in a 13-2 vote Monday.

While much of her immediate itinerary will likely focus on immigration, her confirmation process is also taking place amid the ongoing wildfire crisis in California and recovery from devastating hurricanes in the Southeast. If Noem is confirmed as head of DHS, she will be tasked with overseeing FEMA as it navigates a response to those disasters that Trump has thus far been sharply critical of, and as the president and his administration's push for a federal government shake-up raise questions about the broader future of the agency.

Both FEMA and the wildfires that have burned about 40,000 acres in Southern California in recent weeks, killing more than two dozen people and causing an estimated $250 billion-$275 billion in damage, have been the subject of political tensions as Trump has entered his second term. The president has criticized the agency, saying in a Wednesday interview with Fox News's Sean Hannity that FEMA's future is........

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