Kristi Noem had Coast Guard pilot ‘fired’ over her missing blanket amid chaos inside Homeland Security
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem reportedly had a Coast Guard pilot fired because she was missing a blanket – only to realize there was no one else to fly her home.
The former South Dakota governor had been forced to switch planes after a maintenance issue was discovered, but her blanket was not moved to the second plane, those familiar with the incident told the Wall Street Journal.
She then reportedly had her special advisor Corey Lewandowski fire the US Coast Guard pilot, who was told to take a commercial flight home once they reached their destination.
But when staffers learned there was nobody else available to fly the plane, the unidentified pilot was reinstated, the Journal reports.
The shocking incident was revealed as Noem and Lewandowski face increased scrutiny within the Trump administration over Immigration and Customs Enforcement actions in Minneapolis, Minnesota – where two civilians, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, were shot dead.
Some within the administration now claim they have repeatedly overstepped their authority as they fired or demoted roughly 80 percent of the career ICE field leadership that was in place when Trump took office for a second time.
Concerns over Noem and Lewandowski’s roles first began when Lewandowski asked to be the secretary’s chief of staff, which Trump rejected due to reports of them having an affair.
Lewandowski, Trump’s former campaign manager, was even seen in exclusive Daily Mail photos last year walking back and forth between his apartment and Noem’s across the street.
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem once reportedly got a US Coast Guard pilot fired because her blanket was missing from the flight
She and her right-hand man, Corey Lewandowski, are facing increased scrutiny within the Trump administration over Immigration and Customs Enforcement actions in Minneapolis
Noem then moved into a government-owned waterfront house on a military base in Washington that is provided to the leader of the US Coast Guard, which falls under the Department of Homeland Security’s purview during peacetime.
Lewandowski has also been seen spending time at the house, even as he and Noem – both of whom are married to other people – deny they are having an affair.
A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security has now claimed to the Journal that Noem moved into the house for increased security, and notes that she pays rent on the property.
The spokeswoman added that the department ‘doesn’t waste time with salacious, baseless gossip’ when asked about the alleged affair.
Lewandowski is now working as a ‘special government employee,’ a role that allows private sector employees to take advisory roles in the government without relinquishing their outside salaries and investments.
Federal law caps special government employees at 130 days of work each year, but sources inside the administration have said he has taken on an expansive role at the Department of Homeland Security, directing personnel and contracting and handling classified information.
He even reportedly uses the title ‘chief advisor to the secretary’ in emails and other paperwork.
Rumors have swirled that the two are having an affair, which President Trump reportedly cited as his reason to not name Lewandowski Noem’s chief of staff
Lewandowski, Trump’s former campaign manager, was seen in exclusive Daily Mail photos last year walking back and forth between his apartment and Noem’s across the street
His outsized role has since drawn enough concern from administration officials that the White House Counsel’s Office opened an inquiry into his potential abuse of power last year.
He then allegedly reported a much lower number of days than he actually worked to the counsel and avoided swiping into the building to stay under the service limit.
Yet no action was ultimately taken, and Lewandowski’s special government employee status was renewed for this year, with the Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman saying he is in full compliance with the Office of Government Ethics forms.
By Noem’s side, he and the secretary have consolidated power, those inside the department said.
They explained how Noem started a new approval process for any spending over $100,000 under an approval process that has held up contracts across the department, even though it is now flush with cash from Trump’s Big, Beautiful Bill.
As a result, top officials in Georgia Governor Brian Kemp’s office had to call DHS themselves to get money approved for disaster aid, according to one person familiar with the matter, who claimed White House officials and others in the administration did not know why the money was being held up.
Officials in Florida also reportedly struggled to secure money for months for their work building the notorious ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ ICE detention center.
The Department of Homeland Security spokesperson told the Journal, however, that Noem’s contract approval process has helped root out waste, fraud and abuse – and denied that she missed any calls from the governors of either Georgia or Florida.
Noem’s new contract approval process has reportedly left Florida officials without reimbursement for building the notorious ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ detention center. Trump and Noem are seen touring the facility in July
Meanwhile, Rodney Scott, commissioner of US Customs and Border Patrol, told administration officials that Noem and Lewandowski mismanaged construction of the border wall.
One of the contracts for the wall, for bulk steel, reportedly sat on Noem’s desk for approval for so long that from the time the contract was struck in December until it was signed on February 10, the price of steel went up more than a hundred million dollars.
A senior administration official claims Noem blamed Scott for the delays in a conversation with Trump earlier this year.
Scott has grown so frustrated with Noem and Lewandowski that he even reportedly told the former campaign manager he would no longer take orders from him since Lewandowski’s 130 days as a special government employee had already lapsed.
The department spokesperson denies the conversation ever happened, and said Noem has awarded more than $12 billion in contracts for border wall construction.
Rodney Scott, commissioner of US Customs and Border Patrol, also reportedly told administration officials that Noem and Lewandowski mismanaged construction of the border wall as contracts sat on Noem’s desk
Noem and Lewandowski are also said to have tussled with ICE Acting Director Todd Lyons (pictured on Thursday)
Still, Noem and Lewandowski are said to have retaliated against Scott by reassigning his chief of staff and pressuring his deputy to resign, replacing both with officials close to them.
They reportedly did not give an explanation for the move, as Scott told advisers he saw the effort as a way to make him so uncomfortable that he would leave his post, considering that as a Senate-confirmed official, Noem could not directly fire him.
He would later rail against Noem and Lewandowski for cutting him out of the decision to elevate Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino, warning that his brash tactics would backfire on the department.
At the same time, White House officials are said to have grown irate that Noem and Lewandowski have declined to take guidance on events, messaging and management of the agency.
They reportedly pushed for ICE to post videos of its arrests, but following Pretti’s death, Noem and Lewandowski berated Todd Lyons, the acting ICE director, for videos that emerged in Minnesota showing federal officers continuing to tangle with protesters, according to those familiar.
They then told Lyons that Trump hated the viral videos as they blamed him and demanded he draw up a new plan for ICE to carry out more targeted enforcement – something Lyons had been advocating for all along, according to ICE officials.
President Trump has thus far stood by Noem’s side
As Noem and Lewandowski now continue to reel from the raids in Minneapolis, they are reportedly trying to solidify their relationship with the president.
They successfully requested an Oval Office meeting with Trump just two days after the Pretti shooting, and Noem’s team quickly scheduled a series of press conferences on other matters not relating to immigration enforcement.
She also quickly approved $2.2 billion in emergency funding in late January after previously deriding FEMA and pushing for it to spend less. The Department of Homeland Security then put out a press release touting Noem for unlocking the money.
So far, their efforts seem to be working, as the president resists calls from his inner circle to fire Noem and Lewandowski and states publicly that he has no plans to dismiss her.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt also told the Journal that the president has full confidence in Noem’s leadership.
‘President Trump and Secretary Noem have ensured the most secure border in our Nation’s history and our homeland is undoubtedly safer today than it was when the President took office last year,’ she said.
The DHS spokesperson also said Noem serves at the pleasure of the president, and has successfully clamped down on inefficiencies to save billions of dollars, calling her efforts a ‘roaring success.’
The Daily Mail has also reached out to the White House and Department of Homeland Security for comment.
