It didn’t take long for the MAGA world to sharpen its knives for the president’s outgoing DHS secretary.
Republican Rep. Nancy Mace has fully turned on Kristi Noem and has now called for a probe into her big spending as head of Homeland Security. Mace not only backed Donald Trump’s decision to fire Noem on Thursday—days after Noem, 54, claimed in front of lawmakers that the president greenlit her self-serving $220 million ad campaign—but said she will pay repercussions for spending taxpayer funds on her “personal PR.”
“I don’t think she walks away from this, and she shouldn’t, because as Republicans, we need to hold our own accountable,” Mace told Newsmax on Friday.
Much of Noem’s commercial budget, $143 million, was awarded to a company created just 11 days prior, which was brought up during her congressional hearing. The winner of the no-bid contract, Safe America Media, subcontracted its deal with the “Strategy Group”, whose CEO Ben Yoho is married to Noem’s now-former assistant secretary, Tricia McLaughlin.
In addition to her multi-million-dollar commercial, which featured Noem horseback in front of Mount Rushmore wearing a cowboy hat, she has also been criticized for jetting around the country with her alleged lover and top adviser, Corey Lewandowski. The pair flew in a Boeing 737 MAX airliner with a private cabin at the rear.
Mace, 48, said she was unaware of Noem’s questionable spending habits until the secretary was grilled by Republican Sen. John Kennedy on the matter. It was during that exchange on Capitol Hill when Noem said she had personally received approval for her ad campaign from Trump.
Trump went on to tell NBC News and Reuters that he actually knew nothing of the pricey commercial. He told NBC, “I wasn’t thrilled with it. I spent less money than that to become president. I didn’t know about it.”
This left Mace incensed.
“I’m very grateful to Republican Senator Kennedy,” she told Newsmax. “I had no idea how much money, hundreds of millions of dollars, that Kristi Noem had wasted on her personal PR for all those TV ads that are running across the country that have nothing to do with deporting illegal aliens.”
Mace said she would seek a subpoena of Noem through the House Oversight Committee.
The Department of Homeland Security, which Noem is still technically leading through the end of the month, did not respond to a request for comment.
Mace is not the only Republican fed up with Noem, whose leadership included not just questionable spending, but also her attempting to smear two American citizens who were shot dead by federal immigration agents in Minnesota.
Rep. Don Bacon, of Nebraska, said there are “legit concerns” with Noem’s tenure.
“When there was a $200 million advertising [campaign], we should be better stewards of our money,” Bacon told WFMD. “I think the president probably saw a need for change.”
Kennedy, whose line of questioning arguably led to Noem’s ousting, was also highly critical during her appearance on the hill.
The Louisiana lawmaker scoffed when Noem told him her glamour commercial had been effective.
“Well, they were effective in your name recognition,” he responded. “I personally just, I mean, to me it puts the president in a terribly awkward spot. I’m not saying you’re not telling the truth.”
Kennedy continued, “Knowing the president as I do, it’s hard for me to believe you said, ‘Mr. President, here’s some ads I’ve cut and I’m going to spend $220 million running them,’ that he would have agreed to that.”
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