WASHINGTON, D.C. – A former South Dakota GOP executive director and a pair of South Dakota state officials are following former Gov. Kristi Noem to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
Noem, now the Department of Homeland Security Secretary, announced that Madison Sheahan has joined the department to help lead ICE as deputy director. Noem referred to Sheahan as a “workhorse” and “accountable leader”.
Sheahan came to South Dakota as a staffer in Noem’s office in 2021 after working on the Trump 2020 campaign. After a stint in the governor’s office, the Ohio native jumped to the campaign side of team Noem operations ahead of the 2022 election.
She then spent almost a year as the executive director of the South Dakota GOP, leaving in December 2023 to become the Secretary of Wildlife and Fisheries for Louisiana.
Sheahan graduated from Ohio State University in May 2019, serving as the state election operations director for the Ohio Victory Campaign for a year and a half before joining Noem’s staff.
And just last week it was announced a pair of South Dakota state officials are also following former Gov. Kristi Noem to (DHS).
The office of Gov. Larry Rhoden announced that Department of Tribal Relations Secretary David Flute and Bureau of Information and Telecommunications (BIT) Commissioner Madhu Gottumukkala are leaving state government to take positions within the federal agency, which has been led by Noem since late January.
“Secretary Noem is making important strides to protect our nation, and I am confident that these two gentlemen will add tremendous value to her efforts,” Rhoden said in a news release.
Flute, a member of the Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate and former tribal chairman, will serve as the department’s senior tribal advisor on Indian Affairs. He was appointed to lead South Dakota’s Tribal Relations department by Noem and continued under Rhoden’s administration.
“I am extremely humbled and look forward to serving our country in this new role and am excited to work with Secretary Noem and the Trump administration,” Flute said in a statement.
Flute’s successor at the state level will be Algin Young, a former Oglala Sioux Tribe police chief and current state tribal law enforcement liaison. Young will assume the role of Tribal Relations secretary.
Rhoden praised Young’s experience in Indian Country law enforcement and his leadership qualities. “He is well respected within our tribal communities, and he has the right experience and temperament,” Rhoden said.
Gottumukkala, who has served as South Dakota’s chief information officer and head of BIT since 2023, will become the deputy director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), a division within DHS responsible for protecting the nation’s critical infrastructure.
“Serving the people of South Dakota … has been one of the greatest honors of my career,” Gottumukkala said. “I look forward to continuing to protect and strengthen the nation’s digital and physical infrastructure at a time when it matters most.”
Gottumukkala will remain with the state until May 16.
