Donald Trump has reportedly grown concerned over how much the Department of Homeland Security has spent on TV spots that puff up the profile of ‘ICE Barbie’ Kristi Noem.
Despite internal complaints that Noem is tightening and heavily controlling operational budgets inside DHS, the 54-year-old Homeland Security secretary decided to green-light a $220 million immigration ad campaign featuring her prominently, raising conflict-of-interest concerns and questions around its success.
While aides say Trump, 79, “loves” Noem, and isn’t planning to fire her right now, contrary to widespread media reports, the president has “started asking” how much the Department of Homeland Security has spent on ads that feature the secretary, political journalist Rachael Bade reported Thursday in her Substack, The Inner Circle.
“Firing Kristi? I love Kristi!” Trump told a top aide, Bade wrote, even as he quizzed staff about the price tag and optics of the television blitz, which matched his public comments this week about his “fantastic” colleague.
Bade, a former Politico White House reporter, also relayed a West Wing insider’s crude assessment of why Noem reportedly remains in favor with the president: “She’s pretty—and that’s what he cares about.”
Even Noem’s “ICE Barbie” nickname stems from her image-obsessed enforcement theatrics, an approach that has drawn widespread scorn and headlines. The moniker has since become shorthand for the department’s personality-focused messaging.
Trump’s questions come amid a months-long PR bonanza built around Noem’s hardline immigration agenda—which she is carrying out on behalf of the president and his White House policy enforcer, Stephen Miller, 40, who has set a target of 3,000 daily deportations. They also come after DHS got a massive influx of cash as part of Trump’s “big beautiful bill,” which allocated a whopping $165 billion over the next decade to ramp up deportations and immigration crackdowns.
In August, the Daily Beast reported the White House was prepared to spend millions to boost Noem with a pro-deportation media campaign, amid her roasting by South Park, which portrayed her as a maniacal dog killer. Noem admitted to shooting dead her puppy, Cricket, in a 2024 autobiography.
Noem’s comms team also green-lit a $200 million “self-deportation” app advertising campaign, in which she often appears, but that has only been used by 35,000 people.
There are also questions about conflicts of interest around the ad blitz. ProPublica reported that a GOP consulting firm with personal and business ties to Noem and her senior aides—run by the husband of DHS chief communications official Tricia McLaughlin—quietly benefited from a $220 million DHS campaign after the department invoked “emergency” procedures to bypass regular competition. Noem and McLaughlin deny allegations of impropriety.
Inside the West Wing, Corey Lewandowski, 52—Noem’s closest adviser and rumored lover—is central to the drama. Bade reports that many staff “revile” him and blame allies of border czar Tom Homan for peddling anti-Noem stories. One insider told the journalist that Noem would be “better” if she “got rid of Corey,” a comment that aligns with reports published this week.
The pair’s spree of rapid hires as they attempt to hit the 10,000 extra federal agents target set by Trump, described to the Beast as a “s--tshow” by insiders, has reportedly turned into a “disaster” featuring unfit and ill-educated recruits.
Noem’s media strategy has also stumbled. A DHS “worst of the worst” offender website, heavily promoted in ads, included dozens of cases in which the only conviction was a traffic offense, the Beast found.
Publicly, however, Trump and his White House Press Secretary, Karoline Leavitt, have denied any plans to fire Cabinet members and have continued to praise their “great job,” Bade noted.
White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson described Bade’s article as “total fake news,” adding that Noem was “doing a great job implementing the president’s agenda and making America safe again.” DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said: “I can’t speak for the president but I’ve seen more credible reporting on Big Foot.”
