Aside from the usual corruption never let these guys scream 'stolen valor' because a Dem mispronounces one of his ribbons again. Noem has never served, dresses up in SEAL kit, and has stolen housing reserved for military officers so she can fuck her psycho racist boyfriend who really runs DHS.
— Zeddy (@zeddary.bsky.social) September 23, 2025 at 8:42 AM
Ben Terris (remember him at WaPo?), now at NYMag, asks “Who really runs DHS?”:
… Noem, 53, is the public face of the department, bringing reality-star energy to an office that was created in the aftermath of 9/11 to coordinate America’s preparedness for a terrorist attack. She has hopped across the country in various uniforms — as a Border Patrol agent, in an Immigration and Customs Enforcement flak jacket, as a Coast Guard firefighter — mean-mugging her way onto television screens and decorating the halls of DHS buildings with action shots of her in the field. Most notoriously, when the U.S. sent 238 migrants to El Salvador’s Terrorism Confinement Center — described as a “hell on earth,” where alleged human-rights abuses are rampant — she filmed a video in front of a cage of inmates wearing a $50,000 Rolex. “We looked at her and we thought we were going to get out,” Edicson Quintero Chacón, a detainee at the time, told me. “I mean, we had a sense of joy.” Her reasons for visiting CECOT were more self-interested. She is so skilled at getting in front of the camera that the New York Times has called her the head of the “Department of Homeland Publicity,” while her liberal detractors have taken to calling her “ICE Barbie.”
Since the passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act in July, she has been overseeing a massive influx of some $170 billion that Republicans set aside for combating illegal immigration, money that will go toward expanding DHS’s detention capacity to 100,000 beds (ICE is currently holding more than 58,000 detainees), increasing the size of ICE (in part by offering up to $50,000 in signing bonuses and eliminating the age cap on new hires), bolstering law-enforcement border support, and underwriting a propaganda campaign that has clogged social media with everything from Zero Dark Thirty–style PSAs to paeans to white-nationalist mythology. Under Noem, it is DHS, not the Justice Department, that has emerged as Trump’s most devastating and visible weapon against the right’s perceived enemies. “She’s going to play a key role in advancing Donald Trump’s effort to consolidate the powers of the presidency,” a former DHS official told me. “I think by the end of this administration, if she stays the whole time, she’s likely to become the warden of the police state.”
On paper, Noem sits at the top of this empire. In practice, power over immigration policy is fractured, shaped by competing factions, starting with deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, who has vowed in the wake of Charlie Kirk’s assassination to destroy nameless forces that have conspired against the right — the long arm of law enforcement, he warned them, “will be used to find you, will be used to take away your money, take away your power, and, if you’ve broken the law, to take away your freedom.” Noem will be among those at the forefront of any such effort, surrounded by a tight inner circle that can be difficult to penetrate and often impossible to work with. “The culture over there is terrible,” the administration official told me. “People are scared shitless of Corey.”
Lewandowski has been integral to Noem’s rise, her right hand as they run roughshod over the rule of law and, like so many in Trump’s Cabinet, position themselves for a post-Trump future. Lewandowski is not only surreptitiously co-leading DHS without congressional approval but has brought Trumpworld’s manically pugnacious style to the department and drawn out some of Noem’s own pugnacious predilections, too. After all, Trump’s immigration policies, while broadly unpopular with those who oppose masked men snatching people off the streets and spiriting them away to brutal foreign prisons, remain popular among Republicans. Frank Luntz, the veteran political consultant, thinks this is at least partly owed to Noem, who adds the necessary stage presence to Lewandowski’s muscle and Miller’s brain. “She is probably the administration’s best spokeswoman,” he told me. “The only thing that bothers me is that her name is not mentioned as a potential 2028 Republican Party leader. She’s underestimated.”
******
The story of Noem and Lewandowski goes back to 2019 on a remote Pacific island off northwestern British Columbia. They had arrived via helicopter as guests of the multimillionaire Republican donor Foster Friess, who was hosting his annual deep-sea-fishing fundraiser. Noem was a rising conservative star recently elected governor of South Dakota after an eight-year stint in Congress, while Lewandowski was the former campaign manager for Trump. She once wrote that she “wasn’t emotional about anything.” He once told the Washington Post, “I’m like a robot. I literally have no emotions.”Lewandowski had come to Trump’s 2016 campaign with an unconventional résumé: real-estate agent, New Hampshire marine-patrol officer, Koch Brothers operative, congressional aide who once brought a gun to the Capitol. His longtime political ally David Bossie told the Times in 2015 that Lewandowski was “as anti-Establishment” as Trump. “Corey is driven by an incredible desire to please and be loved by those in positions of power, all while fighting against convention and normal ways of operating,” a campaign operative who worked with Lewandowski told me. He quickly became known for two things: getting arrested after grabbing the arm of a female reporter at a press conference (charges were dropped) and a political strategy that amounted to “Let Trump be Trump.” He lost his job after allies and donors complained he was running an undisciplined campaign.
In the years that followed, Lewandowski would float in and out of Trumpworld but never fall completely out of Trump’s orbit. “The president has always been loyal to people he connects with successful phases of his life,” former Trump adviser Jason Miller told me. Lewandowski’s aggression was also useful. “He is not intimidated by the prospect of a fight and will work doggedly to achieve his pursuits,” a different campaign operative told me. “He is a one-of-a-kind operator, for better or worse.” In response to a request for comment, Lewandowski wrote, “Instead of reviewing the newest wine bar in Chelsea the New York Magazine has degraded itself.”…
Noem stayed close with Lewandowski after the trip and eventually brought him on as an adviser. He was, according to a former staffer from the time, “intimately involved in her governorship.” He helped decide which television shows to go on and encouraged her never to do panels with other guests because she was too big of a star to share the spotlight. He joined her on phone calls with senior staff, dictating which events she should attend in the state. “It bothered people because what did he even know about South Dakota?” the former staffer said.
But Lewandowski seemed like he was already thinking beyond state politics. Early on in their relationship, Lewandowski brought Noem on a swing through New York to talk to financiers who might be helpful were she ever to run for higher office. In one meeting, they appeared to have such a close connection that their millionaire host called a mutual acquaintance afterward to ask if the two were dating. The mutual acquaintance called around and reported back it appeared that they were. They both were, and remain, married, though Noem’s husband, Bryon Noem, lives in South Dakota. Over the years, there have been plenty of tabloid reports about Noem and Lewandowski’s relationship. “Everybody knows they’re together. Can I prove it? No, but they’re together,” the administration official said. A FEMA official called it the “worst-kept secret in D.C.” In 2019, after a conservative conference in Doral, Florida, a bunch of VIPs were on the patio smoking cigars and drinking. Then Noem came out and sat on Lewandowski’s lap. “I remember it being just very romantic,” said a person present. “Interactions that you would expect of a romantic couple, not of a political consultant and the client.” They added, “It was very clear that they were together.”…
Beth Hollatz, a senior adviser during Noem’s governorship and a close friend, said Noem was driven by religious faith and love of her family. “People think she’s coldhearted,” she said. “But she’s not at all.” Others said Noem was virtually an empty vessel. “Beyond just basic conservative principles, she never had an original policy idea or thought at all,” a former campaign aide told me. “She never read books or newspapers or newsmagazines, had zero interest in policy.” Like Trump, her management style, the aide said, “revolves around whoever is the last person to speak to her.” She had a nickname among staff, “Governor Text Message,” because she did much of her managing via phone.
Noem’s tenure as governor was dotted with oddities. She was found by South Dakota ethics board to have intervened in her daughter’s application to become a state-sanctioned real-estate appraiser. She came up with the idea for a $1.4 million anti-drug campaign that resulted in the tagline “Meth. We’re on it.” She earned a reputation among lawmakers for enjoying the perks of office a little too much, traveling often on the state’s plane and spending taxpayer money on a hunting trip to Canada and a trip to Las Vegas, among other destinations with no obvious bearing on state business. Taffy Howard, a Republican state senator who clashed with Noem over the years, said she and some of her fellow lawmakers tried to force Noem to reveal how much money was being spent on her travel but were told revealing that information would be a security issue. “You could not oppose her without her taking it personally,” Howard said…
By the time the 2024 election cycle began, Noem was being talked about as a possible vice-presidential pick for Trump. In South Dakota political circles, her higher ambitions were not a surprise. “Every decision she makes is to help her, help her career, help her get a better job down the road,” said Tom Brunner, a conservative who used to serve with Noem in the state legislature. “She would sell her soul in a heartbeat to get a better job.” Howard said, “She’s a petty, vindictive person who is only ever out for herself. She doesn’t do anything unless it’s calculated to better her political aspirations.”
In February 2024, Noem met with Trump to make her case to join the ticket. She was accompanied by Lewandowski, who came prepared with polling data showing how popular she was in midwestern swing states, according to the book Revenge, by the journalist Alex Isenstadt. But there were obstacles to her getting the job — the foremost being Lewandowski himself. People close to Trump worried about their alleged romantic involvement, Isenstadt wrote. Trump’s advisers had witnessed Lewandowski slapping Noem on the butt, and Trump would slyly refer to Noem as Lewandowski’s “girlfriend.” Noem’s chances at securing the No. 2 spot were ultimately buried by the publication of her second memoir, No Going Back, in which she told the unfortunate story of shooting a disobedient puppy named Cricket on the family farm. “That’s not good at all,” Trump told his son Don Jr., according to Revenge. “Even you wouldn’t kill a dog, and you kill everything.”
With the VP job now off the table, Lewandowski and Noem had another idea: Perhaps she could be the general in charge of immigration. By August, Trump had brought Lewandowski back to his campaign, but he lost a power struggle with co–campaign managers Chris LaCivita and Susie Wiles and was demoted to surrogate work. In the meantime, he mounted a whisper campaign on behalf of Noem, enlisting the help of people like Tom Homan, who would go on to become Trump’s border czar, to talk up her campaign to lead DHS. After Trump won the election, he asked Noem if she might be interested in a Cabinet position, perhaps with the Department of Interior or Agriculture. “I said, ‘Sir, I’d like to be considered for Homeland Security,’” Noem recalled during a speech this summer on Capitol Hill. “And he said, ‘Why would you want to do that?’” The answer she gave: “Because it’s your No. 1 priority.” Noem was easily confirmed on a 59-34 vote…
When Trump picked Noem for DHS, Lewandowski hoped he would be named chief of staff. It wasn’t in the cards. The Wall Street Journal reported earlier this year that the tabloid reports of his romantic relationship with Noem were a sticking point. But apparently there were other issues as well. In September, the Daily Mail reported the existence of a memo written by Richard McComb, the chief security officer at DHS at the time, containing a litany of concerns regarding Lewandowski and questioning whether he should have a top-secret security clearance. Lewandowski had, according to the memo, been accused of receiving $50,000 directly from the Chinese Communist Party as well as money from Israel’s Likud Party without disclosing the payments on his DHS background form. (A DHS official denied these claims.)
The memo also detailed known instances of Lewandowski’s entanglements with the law, including an alleged incident of unwanted sexual contact. In 2021, a woman accused Lewandowski of touching her inappropriately and relentlessly making sexually explicit comments at a charity dinner in Las Vegas. Lewandowski was charged and cut a plea deal in 2022 that resulted in eight hours of impulse-control counseling and 50 hours of community service. In exchange, Lewandowski did not have to admit guilt. The same month he issued the memo, McComb resigned from DHS.
After losing out on the chief-of-staff job, Lewandowski finagled the special-government-employee designation, which allowed him to work 130 days a year for the DHS while maintaining a business with outside clients. Best of all, he wouldn’t have to disclose those clients, making it difficult to determine if they might present a conflict of interest with the work he was doing for the government. There have been red flags. In March, DHS skipped a fully competitive bidding process for the first part of a $200 million ad campaign, giving part of the contract to a firm run by a person with close professional ties to Lewandowski. Furthermore, few people in the administration believe he was keeping an accurate tally of the days he worked. In mid-August, after months of working closely with Noem, Axios reported that Lewandowski wasn’t even close to his 130-day allotment. The report said that he was believed to be entering buildings with other staffers so he wouldn’t have to swipe himself in and that he didn’t always use his government email or phone so that his digital trail was harder to follow. The number he gave — precisely 69 days — was like a bad joke conjured up by Elon Musk. “That number was Corey’s way of saying, ‘Fuck you,’” a former DHS official said…
… Noem wants to be as closely associated with Trump’s draconian regime as possible. Once, according to a former DHS official, Noem grew angry with Homan after he went on television to discuss immigration news, believing that he had “gotten out front” of her on the issue. “She tried to put a comms blackout on him,” another administration official told me. “She ordered that he not go on TV; she ordered that basically no one go on TV in the entire Homeland lane.” Noem tried to tell Homan that he worked for her. He told her he worked for the White House. Her relationship with Homan got so sour that, at a meeting earlier this year, Trump asked Homan whether he needed to intervene. “No, sir, we can work this out,” Homan responded. The White House told me, “The President’s entire team — including Border Czar Tom Homan and Secretary Noem — are all in lockstep.”…
(This does make one wonder why reports of Tom Homan accepting a $50,000 bribe have just recently been leaked, yes?)
War for Ukraine Day 1,309: Another Day Another Set of Air Interdictions
Bruce K in ATH-GR
If there were such a thing as cosmic justice, her career would end at the business end of an official gallows.
cain
@Bruce K in ATH-GR:
I rather she get deported like the many people she has deported herself. I would like to see her penniless and friendless, begging on the streets, on meth, in Cuba.
bjacques
@Bruce K in ATH-GR: I wish for people like her a long life—of disgrace and destitution—followed by dancing on news of their death, by anyone who remembers them.
SpaceUnit
So you’re telling me that Kristi Noem is actually a bad person? Holy shit.
I gotta go splash some cold water on my face.
NotMax
Shameless ambition, voracious greed and limited intellect. The MAGA hat trick of this woebegone administration.
Odie Hugh Manatee
It really felt good to be able to completely skip everything about Lewd Boy and his puppy killing squeeze. All I have to know is that everyone in this administration is a full out grifting criminal looking to cash in on the ignorance of their voters/supporters. Our way of life has been destroyed by stupidity, meanness and greed. Republicans and their media owners have so successfully cultivated a culture of stupid that it is doubtful that we will be able to turn this around. People are that stupid and their minds are that poisoned.
Hate and a refusal by really stupid people to admit that they might have made a mistake is going to kill a lot of people.
Shalimar
That’s the only thing he sees wrong with Noem. If Kristi does become our dress-up president, will Lewandowski share her with other people to gain their loyalty?
Bruce K in ATH-GR
@Shalimar: Goddamn it, Idiocracy was supposed to be a satire and a warning, not a goddamned blueprint.
I know, I know, I’m really cranky today. Dealing with more aggravating medical news, and it turns out that even out here in the Free World, I’m not free of the effects of American pathological idiocy, and with apologies to Harlan Ellison, I have no voice (literally) and I need to scream (literally).
Baud
We don’t “let” them do anything. They don’t because they have a right to smear us and because we live in a society that welcomes calumnies against Democrats.
Bruce K in ATH-GR
@Baud:
More and more, these days, I’m starting to be grateful that I live in a society that knows that the proper place for murderous neo-Nazi thugs is behind bars.
Baud
The only silver lining is he didn’t actually award them new medals.
Shalimar
@Baud: or attach an “extra-murderous” cluster to honor genocide against our enemies.
satby
TGIF everyone! Looking forward to never hearing about any of the felon’s minions other than their trials and convictions some day.
Still enjoying the after vibes of that happy wedding yesterday. The blogfather has to work today, so no honeymoon til later. Which is good, I’m still deciding what wedding gift to give.
What Have the Romans Ever Done for Us?
They’re trying to do the stolen valor thing in the NJ Governor’s race. Something about Sherrill’s time at the Naval Academy. She didn’t walk at graduation- according to her because she wouldn’t rat out classmates who were cheating. She DID graduate and serve as a commissioned Navy officer. But they’ll try to make hay out of anything.
gene108
@What Have the Romans Ever Done for Us?:
DoD leaked her full service record to the Citeralli campaign, which is against the rules. Trump’s putting his big fat ass on the scales of the NJ governor’s race.
Baud
@gene108:
In a society that didn’t deem it acceptable to hate Democrats, that would be a scandal that sunk Citerall’s campaign.
Baud
Price of coffee isn’t coming down anytime soon.
gene108
@Baud:
I doubt it. The media has never cared about people’s privacy rights, when something scandalous happens.
The political media are little more than gossip rags, with a better polish.
gene108
@Baud:
Thank goodness Trump is making the U.S. respected again on the global stage. /s
Baud
@gene108:
Voters should care. They would care if the roles were reversed.
Baud
Betty Cracker
Internet is down here, so I can’t watch the new episode of the Great British Baking Show. Bummer!
Sitting on the porch, which is the only spot in the house where I can access wi-fi via cell tower (metal roof blocks it indoors). It’s still too dark to see the river, but there are owls hooting, herons doing their pterodactyl calls and gators splashing.
Later on, I’m going to check on my mother-in-law, who had cataract surgery yesterday. I’ll bring her BBQ, and she’ll probably tell me all about a wedding she attended last week. Again.
Princess
She’ll be president one day or, if things go the other way, she’s the most likely official to receive jail time.
Betty Cracker
@Baud: That’s bad news since TikTok’s algorithm will soon be controlled by Trump-aligned oligarchs. Better Xi Jinping than the Murdochs and Ellison!
Searcher
Aren’t blunted emotions one of the characteristics of a psychopath?
(Not to mention murdering animals.)
AM in NC
@Searcher: That was my first thought too.
Hoodie
This might be one reason to renovate Alcatraz, to house all these crooks. They’d be stuck in the middle of SF Bay surrounded by sharks and millions of SF liberals who would be laughing at them. And it would be the real Alcatraz, not some makeshift camp in the middle of nowhere.
NotMax
@Hoodie
Perfect task for Afghanatraz.
//
Manyakitty
@cain: nah, she belongs in Uganda.
Manyakitty
@Bruce K in ATH-GR: I’ll scream extra for you.
JML
Noem really is a psychopath. She’s a serial killer whose weapon of choice is government.
(also? someone make sure Luntz is included in the round-up of all of those who worked to destroy democracy and the rule of law in the united states)
Another Scott
@Hoodie: I’ve felt for years that 47 and his enablers should be sent to MDC Guaynabo in Puerto Rico.
Karma and all that.
Grr…
Best wishes,
Scott.
Paul in KY
@Shalimar: I might prefer TACO over her.
Paul in KY
@Baud: They’ll be naming some high schools after Chivington.
Paul in KY
@What Have the Romans Ever Done for Us?: I do think she’s supposed to ‘rat’ them out, by the letter of the honour code.
Hope she survives this, but would she not ‘rat’ out her kid if he/she murdered someone and they were on the run and she knew where they were?
Paul in KY
@Betty Cracker: Hope your mother’s surgery was a success! Both my parents had the surgery while in their 80s and both did fine and their vision really improved.
Paul in KY
@Hoodie: That’s a nice thought!
Paul in KY
@Manyakitty: Uganda won’t want her skanky ass. They do have standards.
Scout211
And just this morning, Propublicahas a new story up about Kristi Noem and her pay-to-play for FEMA disaster funds.
Much more at the link.
Another Scott
@Scout211: Gotta maximize that Waste, Fraud, and Abuse, amirite??
Grr…
Thanks.
Best wishes,
Scott.
mrmoshpotato
@Bruce K in ATH-GR:
Hear hear!
bluefoot
@JML: that’s an excellent description. Same goes for Brainworms.
YY_Sima Qian
@Betty Cracker: The old TikTok was a bastion for young leftists/progressives. As soon as the laws mandating the ban came into effect, right wing reactionary content has become much more prominent. Under the new Trump aligned TechBro ownership, it is set to become much worse.
YY_Sima Qian
Megalomania on the order of Hitler, Stalin, Mao, Pol Pot, Enver Hoxha, & Ceaucescu. & is not flattering for the IDF for going along, either.
Video of the operation through this link:
Meanwhile, in person, Bibi speaks to a largely empty UNGA hall, as most delegates walk out in protest.
Geminid
@YY_Sima Qian: I saw reporting that Netanyahu intends to use video of Gazans listening to his speech in campaign ads. That sounds really goofy but I noted it because more and more Israeli commentators are saying the PM is in campaign mode.
So maybe Netanyahu expects his government to fall and is positioning himself for an early election. His government’s mandate runs to next Ocober, but Israeli governments rarely last their alloted term.
dc
@cain:
Why do you hate Cuba?
dc
@What Have the Romans Ever Done for Us?:
First, she should sue for having unredacted information released by the DOD. Second, not being a rat is a bonus for anyone, anywhere, especially in this kind of situation. No one was killed or harmed. Finally, if we ever have a real Justice Dept. again, someone should be charged for releasing unredacted information about her.
Ruckus
@cain:
Why would you want to do that to Cuba?
Ruckus
@Baud:
It might easily go the other direction though……
Ruckus
@Paul in KY:
I’m not in my 80s – close but not yet, but I’ve had eye surgery and am so very glad I did. It’s not perfect but my vision is a lot better. I had to start wearing glasses at 12 years old, and still am. But at least without them I’m not basically blind, just a tad out of focus. I can exist without them, but wouldn’t drive a car without them.
Paul in KY
@dc: To me, if you swear an oath, you are bound by that oath. I personally wouldn’t have gone to a service academy partially due to stuff like that.
Agree that no one was physically harmed etc. Just that some cheaters got their commissions.
Paul in KY
@Ruckus: Glad you got it done. I started wearing glasses at 8. One of the great things in my life. Had never thought before that moment that people could see that well.
I will certainly have it done if necessary.