Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem is keeping her de facto chief of staff for another year despite President Donald Trump refusing to make the arrangement official—or long term.
Corey Lewandowski has emerged as the second most powerful person at the Department of Homeland Security after Noem herself, despite being classified as an unpaid special government employee who can only work 130 days per calendar year.
He was accused last year of vastly undercounting his work hours, prompting the White House to begin monitoring his work schedule.
He stayed in the role throughout 2025, and has now been rehired for 2026, Axios reported.
The 54-year-old secretary, dubbed “ICE Barbie” by the Daily Beast for her habit of cosplaying as an immigration agent, and Lewandowski, 52, are both married to other people but have long been rumored to be having an affair described by one Trump administration official as the “worst-kept secret” in Washington, D.C.
Both have denied being romantically involved, but the rumors have been so persistent that Trump refused to let Lewandowski serve as Noem’s official chief of staff.
Lewandowski has nevertheless rarely left Noem’s side since she became secretary, amassing a staggering amount of power at DHS in the process.
According to multiple reports, he travels with Noem to meet with world leaders, participates in high-level policy meetings, advises the secretary on personnel decisions, arranges contractor meetings, reviews contracts, and schedules the secretary’s meetings with DHS officials and lobbyists.
“Kristi is the face of DHS. Corey is the brains. He gets things done,” a senior administration official told Axios.
Last week, an Axios reporter spotted Lewandowski standing at a gate at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, where he was apparently discussing DHS vendor contracts loudly on the phone. The former Trump campaign chief specifically mentioned data company Palantir as well as a drone program, according to the outlet.
A DHS spokesperson told Axios that Palantir has had a contract with the U.S. government for 14 years but that Lewandowski had never worked with Palantir and was not involved in the company’s government contract.
Last year, however, The Wall Street Journal reported that Lewandowski had arranged for Noem to meet with Palantir and had told DHS officials to give the company additional work. Weeks later, DHS updated an existing contract to give Palantir an additional $29.9 million.
The Daily Beast has reached out to Lewandowski and DHS for comment.
As a special government employee, Lewandowski is allowed to maintain all of his private business interests and does not have to file a public financial disclosure form.
He is still subject to federal conflict of interest laws, but he refuses to say how he makes money, according to Axios.
He also remains close to the president, having managed Trump’s presidential campaign for part of the 2016 election cycle and later serving as an adviser to the Trump 2024 team.
“No one can really control Corey,” a senior official told Axios.
