DHS Secretary BUSTED — Cronyism Scheme Exposed

Person in white suit waves on stage background

DHS Secretary Kristi Noem faces bipartisan fury after spending $220 million in taxpayer funds on no-bid advertising contracts featuring herself, with a Republican consulting firm tied to her personally profiting from the deal while federal contracting laws were allegedly violated.

Story Highlights

DHS awarded $220 million in no-bid contracts for immigration deterrence ads starring Noem, bypassing competitive bidding by declaring a “national emergency”
Strategy Group, a Republican firm with undisclosed ties to Noem, secretly received subcontracts through Safe America Media, a Delaware LLC created days before the awards
Both parties grilled Noem in Senate testimony over concerns about cronyism and self-dealing that mirrors her controversial $8.5 million South Dakota ad scandal
Five senators and two representatives demanded Inspector General investigations into potential violations of federal contracting laws

No-Bid Contracts Funnel Millions to Connected Firm

DHS spent over $220 million on taxpayer-funded advertising campaigns to deter illegal immigration, with Secretary Kristi Noem invoking a “national emergency” to bypass competitive bidding requirements. Safe America Media, a Delaware LLC incorporated just days before receiving contracts, secured $143 million of that total, while Louisiana-based People Who Think received $77 million. The campaign featured Noem prominently in ads that aired on Fox & Friends, including a Mount Rushmore shoot filmed during the October 2025 government shutdown. The Strategy Group, an Ohio-based Republican consulting firm, secretly worked as a subcontractor on these projects despite no public disclosure of its involvement in the contracts.

Web of Personal and Professional Connections Raises Red Flags

The Strategy Group’s role raises serious concerns about conflicts of interest within DHS. The firm’s CEO, Ben Yoho, is married to DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin, whose office funded the contracts. Noem’s top DHS aide, Corey Lewandowski, also maintains ties to the Strategy Group. Madison Sheahan, a former Noem aide now serving as ICE deputy director, previously received up to $25,000 in consulting fees from the Strategy Group. This network of relationships enabled the firm to profit from federal contracts while avoiding transparency requirements designed to prevent exactly this type of self-dealing on the backs of hardworking American taxpayers.

History Repeats With South Dakota Scandal Playbook

This controversy mirrors Noem’s 2023 South Dakota governorship scandal when her administration awarded an $8.5 million state contract to the Strategy Group for economic development ads featuring Noem in various professional roles. A former state official claimed Noem personally intervened to secure that contract despite seven competing bidders. The Strategy Group also received payments from Noem’s American Resolve PAC through February 2025, demonstrating a pattern of financial entanglement between Noem and the firm. These repeated instances of questionable contracting practices suggest a troubling disregard for competitive bidding safeguards that protect taxpayer dollars from wasteful spending and political favoritism.

Bipartisan Senate Scrutiny Demands Accountability

Senators from both parties questioned Noem during Senate Judiciary Committee testimony about the massive ad expenditure. Democratic Senators Gallego, Kim, Blumenthal, and Peters, along with Senator Welch, formally requested DHS documents and called for Inspector General investigations into potential violations of federal contracting laws. The lawmakers stated it is “critical that dollars are not to enrich cronies” and emphasized that procurement rules exist to prevent self-dealing. Even Republican senators expressed concern about the $220 million price tag and Noem’s starring role in what appeared more like political commercials than deterrence messaging. The ProPublica investigation that exposed these arrangements triggered demands for reforms to emergency bidding waivers.

Both Republican and Democratic senators questioned Kristi Noem on Tuesday about a multimillion-dollar ad campaign that secretly awarded millions to a company with close ties to the DHS secretary. https://t.co/WBkxJm3ApK

— reason (@reason) March 4, 2026

Taxpayer Funds Support Political Self-Promotion

The “Big Beautiful Bill” provided DHS with over $150 billion in funding, with Noem requiring personal approval for payments exceeding $100,000. This unprecedented spending control allowed her to direct enormous sums toward advertising that featured her on horseback at Mount Rushmore and in other high-profile settings. While Noem defended the campaign as a “crucial tool to stem illegal immigration” combating smuggler misinformation, critics argue the ads function primarily as taxpayer-funded political promotion. The investigation revealed that DHS tripled its advertising budget while Americans struggled with inflation caused by years of fiscal mismanagement. This represents government overreach at its worst, using national security justifications to funnel public money toward connected insiders.