Kristi Noem squirmed when confronted with reports that her alleged boyfriend—and top adviser—may cost her her job.
The Homeland Security Secretary nervously laughed off rumors that Donald Trump is considering firing her over her extramarital affair with Corey Lewandowski, which has been dubbed as D.C.’s “worst-kept secret.”
“I don’t have any indication of that,” Noem, 54, said during an event at Tampa International Airport in Florida on Monday.
“The president is fantastic, and I’m proud every single day to be able to work for him.”
The former South Dakota governor, dubbed “ICE Barbie” in the administration for her theatrical costumes, swerved follow-up questions about whether she would remain in Trump’s cabinet through his entire term. “I will serve at the president’s pleasure, which I’m very grateful to get to do,” she said.
A White House official on Monday told MS Now that Noem is on “very thin ice” and will likely be replaced early next year. The outlet included testimonies from the White House, a current federal official, and two former Homeland Security officials.
Top Trump adviser Stephen Miller is reportedly spearheading the efforts to oust Noem and Lewandowski, a former Trump campaign manager who was ousted in 2016 after being accused of assaulting a reporter. The 52-year-old political operative is also known as Noem’s “gatekeeper,” serving as a special government employee who travels with her, weighs in on personnel matters, and shapes enforcement.
The officials said Trump may ax Noem in January, when Democrat Abigail Spanberger succeeds Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, whom advisers are now quietly floating as a potential replacement.
The new developments came after three former DHS officials told The Bulwark over the weekend that the president’s top advisers are increasingly frustrated with Noem’s problematic—and married—partner, and that for that reason alone, she may soon be shown the door.
“Things are f––ed,” one former official said of the pair. “It’s horrible, they’re going to destroy this place. I’m just hoping the new secretary gets here in time.”
White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson denied such rumors, writing in a statement to the Daily Beast: “Everything about this is total Fake News. Secretary Noem is doing a great job implementing the President’s agenda and making America safe again. MS Now and the Daily Beast continue to beclown themselves by inventing narratives that simply are not true.”
Still, senior administration and DHS officials have previously told the Daily Beast that Noem may indeed be “not long for this world,” due to her reliance on Lewandowski, who has vexed immigration architects like Miller.
At the same time, the lovebirds have also been under fire for mismanaging funds. In November, it was reported that they ordered 10 Spirit Airlines jets before realizing the planes had no engines.
Rumors about Lewandowski and Noem’s alleged affair date back to her time as South Dakota governor. In Axios journalist Alex Isenstadt’s book Revenge, which chronicled Trump’s 2024 campaign, he suggested the alleged affair may have cost Noem a chance at being selected as Trump’s running mate. Advisers said they had seen Lewandowski slap Noem on the butt, while Trump himself would refer to her as Lewandowski’s “girlfriend.”
Noem isn’t the only one on the chopping block. Trump is under mounting pressure to oust Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth after a damning report on the Signalgate scandal reportedly pinned the blame on him for compromising sensitive war plans—the same week Democrats called for war crime charges over a U.S. strike on a Caribbean vessel that left two survivors, only for a second missile to kill them.
Meanwhile, the embattled FBI Director Kash Patel is scrambling to save his career after reports surfaced that he instructed agents to give his girlfriend’s drunk friend a ride home.
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