Kristi Noem and rumored lover Corey Lewandowski are traveling through the skies in a luxury jet meant for “high-profile deportations”—complete with a private cabin in back.
The 737 MAX airliner is being leased by the Department of Homeland Security, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday, but Noem’s department is expected to buy it for about $70 million.
That amount, according to the outlet, is twice as much as all seven other planes that DHS is buying for deportations.
Referred to jokingly by DHS staff as Noem’s “big, beautiful jet,” the airplane was earmarked for “high-profile deportations,” people familiar with the matter said.
When asked about the discrepancy in the plane’s stated purpose and how Noem and Lewandowksi were using it, a DHS spokesperson told the Journal that both Cabinet-level travel and deportations were taking place. The spokesperson claimed that the commercial plane was cheaper than a military plane to carry out deportations, even though DHS most often uses chartered flights as opposed to military ones.
A DHS representative did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Daily Beast, nor did Lewandowski.
Noem, 54, and Lewandowksi, her 52-year-old aide, have for years been rumored to be in a relationship. It was “widely understood” that they were romantically involved, according to a New York magazine exposé last September. A FEMA official called it the “worst-kept secret in D.C.”
The Daily Beast’s The Swamp newsletter reported last February that Lewandowski had been spotted at Noem’s Washington, D.C., home taking out her trash.
Each has denied having an affair. Noem and Lewandowski are each married, with three and four children, respectively.
When asked previously about the rumors, DHS said it “doesn’t waste time with salacious, baseless gossip.”
But people who spoke to the Journal said the two don’t go out of their way to hide their relationship.
Noem and Lewandowksi have done their fair share of traveling on other planes besides the 737 Max.
In one incident, Lewandowski resorted to firing a Coast Guard pilot after Noem switched planes due to a maintenance issue, but her blanket wasn’t brought along, according to the Journal. But the pilot, who had been told to fly commercial once they all reached their destination, wasn’t out of a job for long; he was reinstated because no one else could fly Noem and Lewandowski back.
President Donald Trump has so far seemed resistant to pressure to fire Noem, however signs appear to show that she is under pressure. Last month, Trump sent his border czar Tom Homan to Minneapolis in a bid to de-escalate tensions after the deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti.
The move was notable due to Noem’s shaky history with Homan; the pair has clashed over their views on how to manage deportations.
In fact, according to the Journal, Noem tracked her TV appearances alongside Homan and criticized her own staff if she saw him interviewed. A DHS spokeswoman claimed the story was false to the Journal.
