Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem was backed into a corner over her widely reported alleged affair with her top advisor, Corey Lewandowski.
Noem, 54, lashed out after she was grilled by members of Congress on Wednesday over the rumored affair, which has been described as the “worst-kept secret in Washington, D.C.”
“The socialist, liberal, left, is you go off and you attack conservative women,” Noem fired off. “You say that we’re either stupid, or we’re sl-ts.”
She went on: “That’s what you do. And I’ll tell you, sir, I’m neither.”
The Daily Beast has reached out to the Department of Homeland Security for comment.
Noem, who is married and whose husband, Bryon, was in the room for the first part of the hearing, was asked about the alleged relationship by Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove.
The California lawmaker quoted reports about their alleged affair and raised concerns about Lewandowski making decisions at DHS as a “special government employee” without national security or law enforcement experience.
Lewandowski, 52, has worked as a lobbyist and in politics, including as President Donald Trump’s former campaign manager in 2016 before being fired.
“So Secretary Noem, at any time during your tenure as director of Department of Homeland Security, have you had sexual relations with Corey Lewandowski?” Kamlager-Dove asked.
Noem turned to the committee chairman to respond: “I am shocked that we’re going down and peddling tabloid garbage in this committee today.”
She then turned to the congresswoman and told her Lewandowski was a “special government employee that works for the White House.”
The congresswoman shot back that it was okay for the secretary to be “offended by the question,” but she argued that it was a real question that Noem should be able to answer clearly, noting that it concerned a government official sleeping with a subordinate.
“You should be wanting to answer that question because it is not about your sex life, it is about your judgment,” she told Noem.
The DHS secretary continued to speak over Kamlager-Dove throughout the exchange. She called it garbage, said it was offensive and claimed the “garbage has been refuted for years.”
When she was able to reclaim her time, the congresswoman argued it was about a conflict of interest and national security risk and said her constituents needed to know that the head of DHS was making decisions clearly and not compromised.
But Kamlager-Dove was not the only lawmaker to bring up Noem’s rumored affair. Florida Rep. Jared Moskowitz questioned her about her relationship with Lewandowski moments later.
“You’ve called Corey Lewandowski a special government employee,” he said angrily. “I understand what government means, I understand what employee means, ok, but I don’t know what makes him special.”
The Florida Democrat acknowledged that Noem already said the affair allegations were garbage, but he argued she needed to say “no” into the record to clear it up.
“I think the ridiculousness of this and the tabloids that you are quoting and referencing are insane,” Noem shot back. “And this has been something that I’ve refuted for years, and I continue to do that.”
As she spoke, Moskowitz tried to clarify if it was a “no” and said that if that was the case, he would move on, but the DHS secretary never said no directly and instead went on the attack.
“This is what you do—the socialist liberal left—is you go off and you attack conservative women," Noem fired back. That’s when she declared she was neither “stupid” nor a “sl-t.”
Moskowitz quickly attempted to clarify that he had called her neither of those things, but Noem kept going, declaring it was “from the playbook of the Democratic Party.”
By the time the heated exchange took place, Noem’s husband had already left the hearing after the DHS secretary said at the start of the hearing that he would have to leave early to catch a flight.
Moskowitz went on to slam Lewandowski for reviewing contracts and other documents at DHS, according to a FEMA employee who was fired by Lewandowski, not the secretary. He went on to say Noem was the weakest Cabinet member and should be fired.
