Kristi Noem on Tuesday had to explain to Congress the role of her adviser, Corey Lewandowski, whose alleged relationship with the homeland secretary has been called the “worst-kept secret in D.C.”
Noem, 54, was asked by Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee about former associates of hers allegedly being awarded government contracts for a deportation ad campaign featuring her when Lewandowski came up.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal asked Noem if Lewandowski, 52, had a role in approving contracts—“and if so, what is that role?”
Noem didn’t directly answer.
“His role is a special government employee, and special government employees work for the White House and the administration. There’s thousands of them,” she said.
Special government employees are limited to working a maximum of 130 days over the course of a 365-day window. Lewandowski was hired shortly after Noem was confirmed last January. This has naturally drawn questions, including from the White House, according Axios, which reported last August that administration officials believed Noem’s de facto chief of staff was undercounting his work hours to remain in his role.
The DHS told Axios that month that since January, Lewandowksi had only worked 69 days, but four administration sources told the outlet they believed he had already exceeded his time as a special government employee.
The Daily Beast has contacted DHS and Lewandowski for comment.
Noem and Lewandowski, according to a New York magazine exposé last September, were “widely understood” to be romantically involved. A FEMA official called it the “worst-kept secret in D.C.” The two, who are both married with children, have denied it.
Last month, the Wall Street Journal reported that the pair have been traveling on a luxury jet with a private rear cabin. That jet had been earmarked for “high-profile deportations.”
In NBC News reporter Julia Ainsley’s forthcoming book, Undue Process: The Inside Story of Trump’s Mass Deportation Program, a Customs and Border Protection official who regularly interacted with Noem and Lewandowski said of their alleged relationship: “They don’t hide it.”
A member of Trump’s transition team told Ainsley last January: “Oh yeah, they’re still f---ing.”
As for the government contracts that senators were referring to in their questioning on Tuesday, the DHS last year spent $220 million on a pro-deportation ad campaign. One of its beneficiaries was the Republican firm Strategy Group, according to ProPublica, which reported that it “played a central role in her 2022 South Dakota gubernatorial campaign.”
Lewandowski worked “extensively” with the firm, according to the report.
The Guardian also reported that another firm that won a $250,000 contract, American Made Media Company, was led by former Trump campaign officials with ties to Lewandowski. The company did not immediately return a request for comment.
Another beneficiary was Safe America Media, which was incorporated in Delaware a few days before being given the contract. That company wasn’t able to be reached.
Sen. Adam Schiff asked about these contracts.
“Are you saying it’s just a coincidence, it’s just a happy circumstance, it’s just a fortuitous event that $143 million of that went to a subcontractor that you worked with extensively as governor in South Dakota — or during your campaign — that that is just coincidental?" he asked.
“The same process was followed for this media contract than any other media contract that’s happened at the Department of Homeland Security,” Noem replied.
“I had nothing to do and no political—had no choosing of who the contractors, and we don’t have a legal process for weighing in on subcontractors," she said. “It doesn’t exist.”
Vermont Sen. Peter Welch also questioned Noem about the role of Lewandowski, whom he referred to—with air quotes—as her “special adviser.”
Strategy Group said it never had a contract directly with DHS, but acknowledged it was subcontracted by Safe America, which did.
“We had a subcontract with Safe America for limited production services,” the company wrote on X. “Safe America paid us $226,137.17 total for 5 film shoots, 45 produced video advertisements and 6 produced radio advertisements. If you’re going to try to question our integrity, bring actual evidence – we did."
