The Trump administration makes it really easy to write stories that sound like the latest episode of “The Real Housewives of the White House.” This time, the drama is swirling around Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and her rumored lover Corey Lewandowski, a former campaign manager for President Donald Trump.
Last week, Lewandowski—who was once charged with battery against a reporter and has been accused of sexual misconduct by a GOP donor—was reportedly spotted discussing Department of Homeland Security contracts very loudly at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. The Axios reporter who overheard Lewandowski said that he mentioned tech company Palantir and a drone program.
For those who might recall, The Wall Street Journal reported last year that Lewandowski had played a role in Palantir landing contracts within DHS, despite the government’s denial.
Lewandowski was brought on by Noem in 2025, with people referring to him as her de facto chief of staff after Trump reportedly said hiring him would be too messy. After all, the two married adults keep finding themselves at the center of affair rumors.
Corey Lewandowski, shown in 2024.
Since then, Lewandowski has reportedly been running the show from behind the scenes as “ICE Barbie” plays dress up on television at the taxpayers’ expense. Reportedly, he has played a role in securing contracts, demanded polygraph tests of alleged disloyal staffers, attended geopolitical meetings, and much more.
"Kristi is the face of DHS. Corey is the brains. He gets things done," a senior administration official told Axios.
The thing is, Lewandowski previously served at DHS as a special government employee, a position that is supposed to last only 130 days. That time seemingly should have expired last year. But now he’s reportedly back on the job.
Of course, the Trump administration has never been very good at keeping its paperwork organized. (See: Epstein files, The.)
Daily Kos contacted DHS to confirm Lewandowski’s reappointment but did not receive a response by time of publication.
Lewandowski’s questionable timekeeping caught the attention of others last year when it was suspected that his job might be more than “temporary” since he was believed to be undercounting his work hours.
The fact that Lewandowski is overworking is less a matter of his apparent commitment to hating immigrants and more so a concern of conflicts of interest.
Per Axios, Lewandowski won’t detail how he personally makes money, so it’s not off the table that he could have a profitable stake in which contracts come up to bat in the department he isn’t (but reportedly kind of is) running.
Then again, Trump’s appointees have a habit of blowing off rules to fit whatever their needs are. Maybe Noem needs Lewandowski to pull the strings while she rides horses on camera.
