Gov. Kristi Noem is defending her decision to accept a donation toward a South Dakota National Guard deployment.
A foundation connected to billionaire Tennessee businessman Willis Johnson donated $1 million to the state. Noem is using it to send as many as 50 Guard troops into Texas to help defend the U.S. border with Mexico, at the invitation of the Texas governor.
Noem, a Republican, took questions from reporters Thursday at a public event in Sioux Falls. She responded to an allegation from the state Democratic Party that she’s turning Guard soldiers into mercenaries-for-hire.
“That’s not it at all,” Noem said. “The donation comes into the state’s general fund. The Legislature will decide where to appropriate that into, and we’re believing into the emergency and disaster fund, which there it’ll be delegated and used as the state deems appropriate. This is something that has happened over the years at different times with different contributions that have come into the state, is how to get that to the entity involved. It happens quite often.”
Critics say the state frequently gets involved with donations for things such as projects in state parks, but the state rarely if ever accepts donations for a military mission. Some legal scholars say the donation could be illegal if the donor instigated and directed Noem’s decision to deploy troops.
Noem said she was already making plans to deploy the Guard when Johnson offered a surprise donation. The governor said she has no prior connection with Johnson.
- SDPB's Laura Johnson and Genna Scott contributed to this report.