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Donald Trump<\/a> picked Kristi Noem as homeland security secretary as a personal favour to his former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski despite objections that she was \u201cobviously unqualified\u201d, according to a new book.<\/p>\n The factional infighting behind Trump\u2019s cabinet selection, where inexperience was no barrier to success, is detailed by journalist Jonathan Karl in Retribution: Donald Trump and the Campaign That Changed America<\/a>. The Guardian obtained a copy.<\/p>\n Soon after his election victory last November, the book recounts, Trump picked Noem<\/a> to run the Department of Homeland Security, central to fulfilling his campaign promise of the mass deportation of undocumented immigrants.<\/p>\n Like Pete Hegseth, who landed the job of defense secretary, Noem, then the governor of South Dakota \u2013 who faced an outcry over her admission in a book that she once shot a pet dog<\/a> \u2013 had not been on the transition team\u2019s list of possible candidates and had not gone through vetting for the job, Karl writes in Retribution.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen a surprised Trump advisor asked the president-elect why he had decided to nominate Noem to be secretary of Homeland Security, he had a simple answer. \u2018I did it for Corey,\u2019 he said. \u2018It\u2019s the only thing Corey asked me for.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Lewandowski was Trump\u2019s campaign manager until he was fired in June 2016<\/a> after a string of controversies that included being accused of forcibly yanking the arm of a female reporter. Rumours of an affair between Lewandowski and Noem have swirled in Washington<\/a> for years, though both deny the relationship.<\/p>\n Karl notes that even some of Trump\u2019s closest allies were uncomfortable with putting Noem in charge of a sprawling department that includes Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema).<\/p>\n Steve Bannon, an influential podcaster<\/a> and former White House chief strategist, told the author two days after Trump made the announcement: \u201cWe still got the global war on terror. She runs the whole thing? She runs the fucking Secret Service? It\u2019s all of it. It\u2019s the global war on terror. It\u2019s all that. What are you talking about? She\u2019s never been in law enforcement!\u201d<\/p>\n But Bannon did not blame Trump for making what he considered a terrible choice, Karl adds. \u201cHe blamed Lewandowski for convincing the president-elect to do it. \u2018This motherfucker asked for somebody who\u2019s obviously unqualified \u2013 and it\u2019s dangerous. This is dangerous. What are you doing?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Noem was confirmed by the Senate in January. She has since been criticised for controversial spending, immigration policy overreach and bureaucratic delays in disaster aid. Her series of photo ops and glossy videos at locations including the southern border and a mega-prison in El Salvador have been described<\/a> as \u201cauthoritarian cosplay\u201d.<\/p>\n Noem was not the only cabinet pick who proved divisive, according to the book. Sean Duffy<\/a>, a former Republican member of Congress and Fox Business anchor, wanted the job of US ambassador to the United Nations despite having no background in foreign policy. But Trump had already decided to offer the job to the House representative Elise Stefanik.<\/p>\n Duffy was considered for transportation secretary instead but again lacked relevant experience. Karl writes: \u201cWhen Trump asked a friend of Duffy\u2019s if he knew anything about transportation, the friend answered, \u2018Of course he does, he has nine kids!\u2019 Moving a family that large around, the friend joked, requires at least some transportation expertise.\u201d<\/p>\n