A top Donald Trump ally serving as the de facto chief of staff for Homeland Security Secretary Kristi “ICE Barbie” Noem is being blamed by frustrated officials for slowing down the agency’s work.
Sources at FEMA, which falls under the DHS, and a senior administration official told Politico that former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski has inserted himself into the approval process for all DHS contracts and grants over $100,000, creating what one of them called an “insane” extra layer of bureaucracy.
Lewandowski’s red tape bottleneck has meant even relatively minor grants can take weeks to move through DHS.
“Corey is part of the problem,” the Trump administration official said. “It doesn’t matter how quickly we get it there. It doesn’t just go straight to her desk.”
Noem was already criticized for delaying the sign-offthree-day on vital federal aid for areas of Texas devastated by flash flooding in July, which left around 135 people dead, as she needed to approve the move as part of federal coast-cutting plans.
Noem’s requirement for her personal approval of any contract was blamed for a three day delay in deploying Urban Search and Rescue teams to assist with the disaster response.
Lewandowski, who was ousted as Trump’s 2016 campaign manager after allegedly assaulting a reporter, was pulled back into Trump’s inner circle during the 2024 campaign.
Officials are also questioning what Lewandowski’s actual role at the DHS is, and whether he is exceeding his authority by acting as a middleman between Noem and the agency contracts.
He’s listed on parts of the DHS website as Noem’s chief adviser, but was originally tapped as a “special governmental employee”—which would have forced him to step down after 130 days. The White House is investigating whether Lewandowski undercounted his hours to skirt the rule and remain by Noem’s side.
DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin defended Lewandowski’s role, insisting his time is “kept by a career DHS employee who submits the paperwork on a bi-weekly basis” and that he has completed all required ethics forms, and receives no salary or benefits.
“He volunteers his time to serve the American people,” McLaughlin told Politico. “The secretary, like all previous secretaries, has various senior advisers.”
McLaughlin also denied he was slowing the agency’s work, claiming Noem has reviewed more than 5,000 contracts since taking office on January 25—a figure which, if true, works out at roughly two dozen signed-off paperwork every single day.
Elsewhere, the Daily Beast’s The Swamp newsletter reported in February that Lewandowski was spotted at Noem’s D.C. home taking out the trash, with the pair—who have denied affair rumors—reportedly spending time together constantly.
Lewandowski and DHS have been contacted for comment via the Daily Beast.
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