ICE Barbie — aka Division of Homeland Safety Secretary Kristi Noem — is making headlines once more, and never for a staged photo-op in tactical gear. This time, the drama round her division was explosive sufficient that it pressured President Donald Trump to deal with it publicly.
What started as whispers inside DHS has now spilled right into a bombshell report describing a chaotic office, a fired pilot, and an alleged relationship so extensively mentioned that one FEMA official reportedly known as it the “worst-kept secret in D.C.” When Trump was requested concerning the claims on digital camera, his response did little to quiet the hypothesis.
In a report printed Feb. 12, The Wall Avenue Journal detailed what it described as a poisonous tradition inside DHS beneath Noem and her prime adviser, Corey Lewandowski — Trump’s former 2016 marketing campaign supervisor and now, unofficially, some of the highly effective figures contained in the division.
Lewandowski serves as Noem’s prime adviser and de facto chief of employees. His position is technically unpaid — a particular authorities worker classification that permits him to work as much as 130 days a yr with out divesting outdoors enterprise pursuits or submitting full public disclosures.
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Inside DHS, the Journal reported, the pair routinely yell at senior employees, order polygraph assessments for workers and fireplace aides with little warning.
One episode described by folks acquainted with the matter concerned Lewandowski firing a Coast Guard pilot as a result of the pilot didn’t retrieve a blanket belonging to Noem that had been left behind on one other plane.
The termination rapidly backfired. After instructing the pilot to fly business house, Noem and Lewandowski reportedly needed to reverse the choice once they couldn’t safe one other pilot to return them to Washington.
Social media didn’t let that element breathe.
“She leaves her blankie on the aircraft and the pilot is fired by her fck buddy? Excuse me?” an indignant Threads consumer posted.
One other joked, “My favourite a part of that is that they needed to unfire the pilot to take them house. Speak about not considering a scenario by means of.”
Different remarks ranged from, “they’re simply all … f-cking terrible” to “Despicable.”
The report additionally detailed how Noem and Lewandowski journey round on a $200 million luxurious 737 MAX jet with a cabin in again supposed for high-profile deportations.
However maybe essentially the most startling revelation within the WSJ’s story is why Noem moved to Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling final August in what was first reported as a short lived relocation over safety issues.
Final August, Noem moved right into a government-owned waterfront house at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling in Washington — a residence sometimes reserved for the commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard, which falls beneath DHS throughout peacetime.
The official clarification: safety issues. A DHS spokeswoman mentioned Noem pays hire and moved for elevated security.
However the timing adopted photographs printed by the Each day Mail displaying Lewandowski strolling backwards and forwards between his condominium and Noem’s — positioned throughout the road from each other. The photographs intensified long-running rumors that the 2 had been concerned in a romantic relationship regardless of each being married.
Each have denied the allegations. A DHS spokeswoman mentioned the division “doesn’t waste time with salacious, baseless gossip.”
But in line with folks cited by the Journal, Noem and Lewandowski make little effort to hide their closeness contained in the division. Lewandowski reportedly spends time on the navy base residence as properly.
The scrutiny escalated this week when Trump was confronted straight concerning the alleged relationship throughout a press gaggle aboard Air Power One.
“Latest information stories have mentioned the likelihood that Kristi Noem and Corey Lewandowski are in an in depth private relationship. Is {that a} dangerous look? And do you assume she’ll be within the job for much longer?” a reporter requested boldly.
Trump’s response was telling.
Because the phrase “shut private relationship” was spoken, he closed his eyes and shook his head barely.
“I don’t learn about that,” Trump mentioned, feigning ignorance — a well-recognized maneuver critics usually cite when he’s cornered. “I haven’t heard that … ahhh, I’ll discover out about it. However I’ve not heard.”
The response landed with a thud on-line.
“Trumps inventory reply when requested one thing that he is aware of all about… “I don’t learn about that,” one consumer posted on X.
One other wrote, “The man who cheated on all of his wives has to examine into whether or not that’s a nasty look?”
A 3rd added, “All ladies are presupposed to worship Trump so this positively pisses him off.”
For critics, the change on Air Power One wasn’t nearly a rumor. It was about timing.
As a result of whereas Trump publicly shrugged off questions on Noem’s alleged relationship with Lewandowski, reporting suggests her tenure has quietly change into one of many administration’s greatest inner stress factors.
Early within the second time period, Noem carved out $200 million from DHS’s price range for a nationwide promoting blitz warning undocumented immigrants to “go away now.” The advertisements featured Noem prominently, delivering the message on to digital camera.
In keeping with an individual acquainted with inner discussions, Trump questioned aides about the place the funding had come from. Contained in the White Home, some officers bristled on the scale of the marketing campaign, viewing it as extra about elevating Noem’s profile than reinforcing the administration’s broader message.
The DHS spokeswoman mentioned the marketing campaign was coordinated and “tremendously profitable.”
However irritation reportedly prolonged past promoting.
In keeping with The Wall Avenue Journal, Noem has intently tracked how usually she seems on tv in contrast with different administration officers — significantly Tom Homan, Trump’s border czar.
Folks acquainted with inner dynamics mentioned she has reacted sharply when Homan secured extra airtime and has pushed aides to extend her personal visibility.
Homan, in the meantime, has complained to White Home officers about each Noem and Lewandowski, in line with folks acquainted with these conversations. Communication between the 2 has reportedly been restricted.
A number of senior administration officers described DHS as a recurring supply of complications, citing what they view as resistance to White Home steering on messaging, occasions and inner administration.
This WSJ reader put it bluntly, “A contemptible lady, conceited, useless, dishonest, and merciless…”
