ICE Barbie Kristi Noem is reportedly stalling Senate confirmations so she can keep living rent-free in a military base home normally reserved for the Coast Guard’s top officer.
Noem, dubbed “ICE Barbie” for her love for cosplaying in uniforms during PR stunts, has been staying in the Coast Guard commandant’s residence at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling in Washington, D.C..
A top Trump administration official has now told New York Magazine that Noem is thrilled with her current cost-efficient living arrangements, and does not want any senior Coast Guard official coming in and forcing her out of her new abode.
“They’ve sent no three- or four-stars in the Coast Guard up for confirmation,” the official told the magazine, “because she doesn’t want to get kicked out of the commandant’s house.”
Homeland Security Secretary Noem moved there saying she feared for her safety after the Daily Mail published photos in April of her usual home.
In May, Noem announced Admiral Kevin E. Lunday as Trump’s nominee for the next Coast Guard commandant, and the rightful occupant of the D.C. base.
But the Senate has yet to confirm him, leaving Lunday serving only in an acting capacity. The base had been empty since February when Admiral Linda Lee Fagan, fired by the Trump administration the previous month, was evicted.
Noem’s reluctance to budge is just one detail in juicy feature examining the relationship between Noem and former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski, who are accused of having an affair for years.
Lewandowski works closely alongside Noem and has an oversized role at the DHS, including signing off on work before it lands on her desk, and even carrying out some of her duties.
This is despite Lewandowski, who has been described as Noem’s de facto chief of staff, only meant to have been brought in as a temporary “special government employee,” which would have forced him to step down after 130 days.
Rumors of their romantic involvement, which they both deny, were fueled in February when the Daily Beast’s The Swamp newsletter reported that Lewandowski was spotted at Noem’s D.C. home taking out the trash.
A month later, the Daily Mail reported that Noem and Lewandowski were living across the street from each other in the trendy Navy Yard neighborhood in D.C. The outlet published photos of where Noem lives, adding that Lewandowski was a “regular visitor” to Noem’s swish $3,750 a month condo.
“Everybody knows they’re together. Can I prove it? No, but they’re together,” a Trump administration official told New York Magazine.
Soon after, Noem moved into the Coast Guard commandant’s home citing fears for her safety after being “doxxed,” and has been living there rent-free ever since.
In response, a DHS spokesperson said the New York Magazine article is a “hit piece reads like a preteen rage-scrolling, then prompting ChatGPT for a screed on misogyny—complete with zero substance and maximum bulls–t.”
“It’s not just lazy—it’s libelous—peddling anonymous gossip as fact while ignoring our exhaustive, on-the-record rebuttals that destroy their narrative,“ a spokesperson told the Daily Beast. ”New York Magazine has sunk to new depths of journalistic cowardice, force-feeding the American public lies less digestible than Kibble dog food.”
Noem insists her stay in the base is temporary, and that she still pays rent at her Navy Yard apartment.
The Daily Beast has contacted the White House for comment.
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