WASHINGTON — Corey Lewandowski is expected to depart the Department of Homeland Security after President Trump fired Secretary Kristi Noem on Thursday — ending his reign of terror over agency staff.
Lewandowski has served as Noem’s de facto chief of staff and tightly controlled department operations, building a reputation for abruptly firing staff and instilling fear among fellow Trump aides.
“The end of Corey Lewandowski’s reign represents a return to responsible and accountable governance,” an administration official told The Post. “The nation welcomes Senator [Markwayne] Mullin’s nomination.”
A White House official said they assume Lewandowski will be swiftly out of power as soon as Mullin assumes command later this month, remarking: “Don’t know who would want him.”
Lewandowski told The Post he wouldn’t “speculate” on why Trump fired Noem — one day after she was questioned in Congress about her alleged affair with him.
Lewandowski said he had “no insight” into the reasoning behind Trump’s decision to remove Noem.
“I would never try and assume to get in the mind of President Trump,” Lewandowski said in a brief phone interview. “I think he has his reasons for everything he does, and we have seen enormous success from his leadership at the White House.”
Noem and Lewandowski’s years-long affair has been the worst-kept secret in Washington — and dates back to her time as governor of South Dakota.
Sources told The Post in 2023 that Bryon had moved out of the governor’s mansion roughly two years prior.
The pair have traveled extensively together on official business, including trips to Argentina, Bahrain, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Poland and Italy.
In fact, Lewandowski, who has been married to Alison Hardy since 2005, had fired a Coast Guard pilot for leaving his lover’s blanket on a plane — though reinstated him when there was no one to fly them home.
Lewandowski is believed to be living with Noem, who shares three children with her husband.
Lewandowski is an unpaid special government employee, meaning he can legally work 130 days within a 365-day period. The designation also means he doesn’t need to submit financial disclosure forms, which are intended to deter conflicts of interest related to official actions.
He evaded the cutoff last year by arriving at DHS headquarters in Noem’s motorcade — often after spending the night at her government-provided home nearby, sources said.
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Lewandowski commanded immense influence at the department, including over the approval of contracts and key staffing decisions — sparking a persistent and as-yet unproven swirl of accusations of impropriety.
Noem faced an outcry from lawmakers when she testified to a Senate committee on Tuesday that he did not approve contracts — despite substantial evidence that he had.
On Wednesday, Noem was pressed by Democrats twice under oath whether she was having an affair with Lewandowski. She trashed the questions — but didn’t outright deny a sexual relationship.
Asked if Noem’s responses in Congress were a factor, Lewandowksi said: “You’re asking me to speculate on things that I have no insight into.”
But Lewandowski, who worked on Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign, downplayed his influence at the department, saying he was merely an “unpaid volunteer” for Trump’s White House.
He mentioned working with Secretary of War Pete Hegseth on Thursday in Florida — where Hegseth called out his contributions, while Noem was speaking at a conference in Nashville.
“I haven’t made that decision,” Lewandowski said, when asked if he’ll stay on with the Trump administration.
Ex-Secretary Kristi Noem’s most memorable photo ops during her tenure at DHS:
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The special government employee also extended an olive branch to Mullin, Trump’s nominee to lead the department.
“I’m happy for Markwayne Mullin,” Lewandowski said.
Lewandowski, deemed an uncrushable “cockroach” by his critics, has survived previous declines in his influence.
He was fired as Trump’s campaign manager in 2016, and three years later, his longtime business associate Dave Bossie was scorched by Trump for “deceptive” fundraising practices.
“Corey will find a way back into Trump world,” a source predicted.
