DORAL, Fla. — House Republicans are looking into nearly a quarter of a billion dollars in taxpayer funds being spent on a Department of Homeland Security ad campaign featuring now-former Secretary Kristi Noem — and are probing her also-ousted top adviser Corey Lewandowski.
House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Andrew Garbarino (R-NY) told The Post Tuesday his panel was “already doing a lot of oversight” and had “asked for a lot of things” regarding the $220 million publicity blitz, as well as other DHS spending overseen by Noem and Lewandowski.
“I think Corey had his hands in a lot and probably should not have,” Garbarino said during an interview at the House GOP retreat at Trump National Doral Miami. “We are looking into a lot of contracts.”
Due to a Noem-imposed rule that the secretary’s office had to sign off on all contracts worth more than $100,000, Garbarino claimed a lot of department actions “got bottlenecked” — including disaster relief and other critical funding, even though the purpose of the policy was “to go after waste and abuse.”
There was also a delay in funding contracts to build hundreds of additional miles of a wall along the US-Mexico border, the Long Islander claimed.
The massive price tag for the ads alarmed GOP lawmakers — and frustrated President Trump after Noem testified in back-to-back congressional hearings last week that he had authorized the spending.
“I wasn’t thrilled with it,” Trump told NBC News last week about Noem’s claim. “I spent less money than that to become president. I didn’t know about it.”
“It sounds like the president’s concerned,” House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) said Tuesday, “so you know, we certainly are as well, and we’ll take a look at it.”
“Our staff is just starting to get information in on that.”
Around $143 million of the ad campaign money was paid to Safe America Media, which incorporated in Delaware around a week before inking the contract, ProPublica first reported in November.
A subcontract worth more than $226,000 went to the Strategy Group, which helped shoot an ad featuring Noem on horseback in front of Mount Rushmore and promising an “American dream … as big as these endless skies” to immigrants entering the US legally — and deportation for those coming illegally.
The political consulting firm is run by Ben Yoho, the husband of ex-DHS chief spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin.
In a statement, the Strategy Group noted it had never contracted directly with DHS. McLaughlin similarly said her “husband doesn’t own Safe America and is not a part of it.”
Noem also testified to the Senate Judiciary Committee on March 3 that DHS always abided by agency rules for contracts and denied being involved with the award process.
Trump has still been privately asking trusted advisers if Lewandowski personally profited from the nine-figure advertising campaign, NBC News reported Thursday.
White House insiders told The Post Friday that Trump’s “final straw” with Noem was her failure to answer pointed questions about whether she ever had “sexual relations” with Lewandowski, who was technically working in DHS at the pleasure of the president as a special government employee.
Lewandowski has disputed reports of overexerting his influence at the department and maintains he was merely an “unpaid volunteer” — but sources dished that he had boasted last year: “I do whatever the f–k I want. DJT will pardon me.”
“Never said that,” Lewandowski told The Post in response to the claims. “Never asked for a pardon and have no reason to receive one.”
Meanwhile, House Republicans said they are excited to see Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) nominated to replace Noem.
Jordan noted that Mullin would likely take the lead in pursuing an internal investigation into any misuse of taxpayer funds at DHS — and build on the early successes of Noem in helping the Trump administration secure the border, deport criminal illegal aliens and end censorship in federal agencies.
“I am very excited for a Secretary Mullin. I think he’s got a great relationship with a lot of people on the Hill. I mean, I served with him in the House back in 2021,” said Garbarino, who also assessed that Noem “didn’t do a bad job. She just had a lot to deal with and she didn’t have the deputies in place to rely on.”
Reps for DHS did not respond to requests for comment.
