Corey Lewandowski, a longtime ally of President Donald Trump who wielded extraordinary influence over the Department of Homeland Security, allegedly offered to help the governments of Qatar and the United Arab Emirates with DHS issues in exchange for private work.
According to the <a href="https://www.wsj.com/politics/policy/corey-lewandowski-influence-dhs-43d3fe03?mod=hp_lead_pos7">Wall Street Journal</a>, Lewandowski approached senior Qatari officials with a proposal that the outlet characterized as “Hire me on the side.” He allegedly offered to help Qatar with matters falling under DHS’s jurisdiction, including visa issues. Lewandowski reportedly made a similar pitch to representatives of the United Arab Emirates.
The proposals were ultimately rejected. Some of the foreign officials were reportedly confused by the offers, questioning why they would need Lewandowski’s assistance when they already had established relationships with senior Trump administration officials. 
At the time, Lewandowski was a special government employee serving as a close adviser to then-DHS Secretary Kristi Noem. He effectively operated as Noem’s right-hand man, with a role that gave him influence over enormous sums of taxpayer money, immigration enforcement, and other major department operations. Lewandowski&#8217;s unusual authority was widely attributed to his close relationship with Noem. The two have been the subject of speculation that their relationship was romantic, which they have denied.
The allegations come as the DHS inspector general investigates contracting decisions made during Noem’s tenure and Lewandowski’s role in them. The Journal previously reported that investigators had found evidence that Lewandowski improperly influenced government contracts, and the investigation could potentially result in a criminal referral to the Justice Department. 
A representative for Lewandowski told the Journal that he never sought contracts with foreign governments and denied demanding or soliciting payment or compensation from government contractors. The representative also said Lewandowski played no role in reviewing or approving DHS contracts. “Lewandowski denies any wrongdoing,” the representative said.
The reported foreign-government outreach is only the latest allegation surrounding Lewandowski’s conduct at DHS. While advising Noem, Lewandowski allegedly sought a private meeting with Palantir CEO Alex Karp while DHS was considering a $2.7 billion contract with the company. The meeting never occurred, and the eventual agreement was reduced to $1 billion.
Lewandowski has also faced allegations involving GEO Group, one of the country’s largest private prison companies and a major DHS contractor. Congressional investigators have examined claims that Lewandowski sought personal compensation from contractors in exchange for favorable treatment.
In March, Democratic senators <a href="https://www.hsgac.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026-03-26-Letter-from-Sen-Blumenthal-and-Sen-Welch-to-Secretary-Mullin.pdf">formally asked</a> DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin for records concerning Lewandowski’s alleged influence over contracts and potential personal financial benefits. In their letter, they said that recent reporting raised questions about whether Lewandowski had “unlawfully steered” contracts to benefit himself and political allies. 
That question became particularly important because the department was responsible for tens of billions of dollars in newly appropriated spending to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/ice-will-soon-get-more-money-than-the-fbi-have-capacity-for-a-million-annual-deportations">expand immigration enforcement under the One Big Beautiful Bill.</a> Noem had centralized much of DHS’s spending authority, namely putting virtually all department expenditures above $100,000 under the secretary’s purview. The arrangement gave Lewandowski, as Noem’s closest adviser, an overly influential position over the companies and organizations seeking federal money. 
Lewandowski and Noem both left DHS in March after Trump removed Noem as secretary and replaced her with Mullin. The allegations concerning Lewandowski, however, have continued to follow him after his departure. He now works as a consultant and has secured at least one foreign client: Bahrain, which signed a contract with him after he left government, according to a Bahraini official.
The DHS inspector general’s investigation remains ongoing.

Corey Lewandowski

Former Top DHS Official Accused Of Trying To Sell Out To Middle Eastern Governments On The Job

corey lewandowski

department of homeland security

kristi noem

politics

qatar

united arab emirates

The illegal immigrant who purse snatched then-Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem received a three-year prison sentence this week.
Chilean national Mario Bustamante Leiva, 50, stole Noem&#8217;s Gucci bag, which had $3,000 cash, her passport, wallet, and government ID inside last April while she was having Easter dinner with family at the Capital Burger in Northwest Washington, D.C., authorities said.
After he serves his time, Bustamante Leiva will be subject to deportation, <a href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc/pr/purse-thief-who-targeted-kristi-noem-sentenced-36-months-wire-fraud-and-first-degree" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to the Department of Justice.
It was his fourth theft in eight days, the Justice Department said. Before that, he was arrested in Utah in 2021 for shoplifting and in London in 2015 for a months-long theft spree, according to the New York Post.
He was also let go by authorities in New York City last March after allegedly stealing a fanny pack from a food cart. The victim of that crime, who was a legal immigrant, previously <a href="https://nypost.com/2025/04/28/us-news/illegal-migrant-accused-in-kristi-noems-purse-snatching-had-ny-arrest-warrant-out/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> the New York Post that the suspect racked up $1,200 in credit card charges in just 20 minutes.
“That’s insane. I don’t know how he was let out after that without any reason,” the man said at the time.
“I mean, putting in so much effort and then coming to the States and experiencing something like that intrigued my frightened side,&#8221; he added.
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Bustamante Leiva pleaded guilty Nov. 21, 2025, to three counts of wire fraud and one count of first-degree theft for his role in Noem&#8217;s purse-snatching.
</div>
“Bustamante Leiva came to Washington illegally to prey on citizens of the District. He methodically targeted women at restaurants, stealing their purses, and monetizing the stolen cards within minutes,” U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro said in a statement Wednesday.
“His pattern of theft ends here. He will serve his prison term and be deported,&#8221; she said.
After the theft, Bustamante Leiva went to a nearby restaurant, where surveillance cameras captured him holding Noem&#8217;s purse, wallet, and at least four of her credit cards, which he used to make a purchase, according to the Justice Department.
Police arrested the illegal immigrant on April 26, 2025, at a D.C. motel, where they found Noem&#8217;s purse and wallet, along with a gift card he had purchased with a stolen card and more than $3,000 in cash.
Bustamante Leiva entered the United States at the Orlando International Airport in August 2021. At the time, he was granted a visa waiver that allowed him to stay in the country until Nov. 13, 2021.
The Chilean national never left and overstayed his permission to remain in the country, making him an illegal immigrant.
Bustamante Leiva&#8217;s co-defendant Cristian Rodrigo Montecino-Sanzana was sentenced on March 13, 2026, to 13 months behind bars and three years of supervised release for his role in one of Bustamante Leiva&#8217;s thefts. He is also expected to face deportation after serving his sentence.

Untitled design – 2026-04-24T100009.546

Hammer Falls On Illegal Immigrant Who Stole From Kristi Noem

crime

Deportations

immigration

U.S.

Jennifer Siebel Newsom, wife of Governor Gavin Newsom (D-CA) and self-described &#8220;First Partner of California,&#8221; offered a bizarre defense of former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and former Attorney General Pam Bondi.
Newsom, in a recent video, claimed that the two women — both recently removed from cabinet-level positions in President Donald Trump&#8217;s administration — were victims of &#8220;the Patriarchy&#8221; and proof positive that the war on women was raging ever onward.
WATCH:
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&#8220;Trust me, I&#8217;m not a fan of Pam Bondi nor Kristi Noem,&#8221; Newsom began, adding, &#8220;But I need to call out that it&#8217;s no surprise to me that the first two prominent people pushed out of this administration were women.&#8221;
&#8220;Let me explain. The conservative women that Trump handpicks, who align themselves with an agenda that controls women, restricting our rights, limiting our autonomy, and pushing us back into the straitjacket of femininity that is only in service of men, that&#8217;s a familiar pattern here,&#8221; Newsom claimed. &#8220;Women are brought in and packaged Mar-a-Lago-style and lifted up, as long as they commit to whole-heartedly serve the interests of the patriarch at the top.&#8221;
Newsom went on to argue that those positions only appeared to hold power &#8220;or proximity to power&#8221; and failed to provide any kind of real authority or security: &#8220;There’s no secure place inside this handpicked patriarchal body that systemically disrespects, devalues, and discriminates against women and girls.&#8221;
California&#8217;s &#8220;first partner&#8221; pivoted to attack Noem and Bondi — and other women aligned with the Trump administration — as &#8220;complicit&#8221; in devaluing other women and warned that they would always be the &#8220;first to go&#8221; when it mattered.
&#8220;Your power is only temporary,&#8221; she claimed, adding, &#8220;And ultimately, they will come for you.&#8221;
Newsom made no mention of the fact that Trump was responsible for hiring the first woman to manage a winning presidential campaign (Kellyanne Conway), the first working mother to serve as White House Press Secretary (Sarah Huckabee Sanders), and the first woman to serve as White House Chief of Staff (Susie Wiles). She also failed to acknowledge that it was actually a man — Green Beret veteran Mike Waltz, now serving as U.S. Ambassador to the UN — who was the first high-ranking official to be ousted from his role as national security adviser.

California Governor Gavin Newsom Interview On The Circuit

Gavin Newsom’s Wife Offers Bizarre Defense Of Kristi Noem, Pam Bondi

Gavin Newsom's Wife Offers Bizarre Defense Of Kristi Noem, Pam Bondi

General

Jennifer Newsom

Pam Bondi

Patriarchy

Sexism

President Donald Trump responded to the bombshell reveal of pictures showing the husband of former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem cross-dressing and exchanging risqué messages and photos with several women, saying he feels &#8220;badly for the family&#8221; if the story is confirmed.
&#8220;They confirmed it?&#8221; Trump asked, speaking to <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-15695627/Shocked-Trump-reacts-Kristi-Noems-crossdressing-husband-Daily-Mail-blew-lid-national-security-scandal.html">The Daily Mail</a>, the outlet that broke the story. &#8220;Wow, well, I feel badly for the family if that’s the case, that’s too bad. I haven’t seen anything. I don’t know anything about it. That’s too bad, but I just know nothing about it.&#8221;
The bizarre story about Noem&#8217;s husband Bryon Noem and his apparent cross-dressing habits broke on Tuesday morning, with national security experts saying it could have left Noem susceptible to blackmail while she was in the cabinet. A representative for Noem told the <a href="https://nypost.com/2026/03/31/us-news/kristi-noem-weighs-in-on-report-husband-bryon-lives-cross-dressing-double-life/">New York Post</a> that she and her family had been &#8220;blindsided&#8221; and &#8220;devastated&#8221; by the story that broke earlier that day, and asked for &#8220;prayers and privacy&#8221; as they navigated the situation.
The story alleged that Bryon Noem had exchanged risqué messages and photos with several women — including a number in which he could be seen wearing women&#8217;s clothing and with what appear to be balloons stuffed in his shirt. Several outlets referred to the fetish as &#8220;bimbofication,&#8221; which usually involves role-playing and dressing up to exaggerate physical characteristics that one might associate with a &#8220;bimbo.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Secret double life of Kristi Noem&#8217;s crossdressing husband Bryon: The pouting &#8216;busty bimbo&#8217; photos and trove of explicit messages <a href="https://t.co/4GvCcfPK9j">https://t.co/4GvCcfPK9j</a>
— Daily Mail (@DailyMail) <a href="https://twitter.com/DailyMail/status/2038982362852118775?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 31, 2026</a></blockquote>
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Bryon Noem, according to the reports, used a different name when engaging with others in the fetish community — but the fact that Noem&#8217;s face could be clearly seen in a number of the photos raised questions about whether his activities could still have created a potential national security risk. If he was identified, it would have left his wife open to a potential blackmail situation.
&#8220;Damaging information like this can be a tantalizing lead for a hostile intelligence service,” former CIA officer Marc Polymeropoulos told The Daily Mail. &#8220;They approach the person and say, if you work with us we won’t expose this, and if you don’t, we will. That’s espionage 101.&#8221;
Bryon Noem denied ever sharing any sensitive information. Financial records reviewed by the outlet show he transferred tens of thousands of dollars to the women he was in contact with.
Kristi Noem was removed from the cabinet weeks ago, and has been replaced by former U.S. senator Markwayne Mullin, who was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/markwayne-mullin-confirmed-as-next-homeland-security-secretary">confirmed</a> and sworn in earlier this month. Her final months were <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/before-noems-ouster-key-officials-tied-to-costly-and-wasteful-projects-left-dhs?author=Jennie+Taer&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Before+Noem%E2%80%99s+Ouster%2C+Key+Officials+Tied+To+Costly+And+Wasteful+Projects+Left+DHS">plagued by scandal</a>, including questions over a $200 million advertising contract.
Noem remains in the administration, as Trump appointed her Special Envoy for the Shield of the Americas when he removed her from the cabinet position.

Donald Trump/Kristi Noem

Trump Weighs In On Images Of Kristi Noem’s Husband Cross-Dressing: ‘That’s Too Bad’

Trump Gives Deadpan Response To Bizarre Story About Kristi Noem's Husband

donald trump

President Donald Trump has tapped Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) to serve as his next Secretary of Homeland Security, but the question remains: can he salvage the agency&#8217;s reputation and its mass deportation effort?
Leading up to the firing of outgoing Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, the department faced backlash for its handling of immigration sweeps across major cities. In Minneapolis, it all came to a head after the fatal shootings of anti-ICE activists Renee Good and Alex Pretti by federal immigration agents.
At the time, Noem tagged Good and Pretti as domestic terrorists, drawing backlash from both sides of the aisle for getting ahead of federal probes.
In an attempt to clean up the situation, Trump sent his border czar, Tom Homan, into the Twin Cities to change the course of immigration raids and to quell chaos in the streets. In doing so, Trump replaced Noem ally Gregory Bovino, of Border Patrol, who was known for his aggressive tactics of carrying out roving patrols.
Homan changed all that, putting the focus on nabbing the worst criminals first.
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Asked how Noem and Mullin differ, Homan says Mullin “doesn’t know the immigration game very well,” but is relying on “people with 30, 40 years of experience to guide him,” adding: “That’s the way it should be.” <a href="https://t.co/x7QQkHDEH2">pic.twitter.com/x7QQkHDEH2</a>
— Jennie Taer (@JennieSTaer) <a href="https://twitter.com/JennieSTaer/status/2034364253470183456?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 18, 2026</a></blockquote>
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On Wednesday, Fox News host Martha MacCallum asked Homan how <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/rand-paul-confronts-mullin-over-anger-issues-after-freaking-snake-jab?author=Jennie+Taer&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=1&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Rand+Paul+Confronts+Mullin+Over+%E2%80%98Anger+Issues%E2%80%99+After+%E2%80%98Freaking+Snake%E2%80%99+Jab">Mullin</a> would differ from Noem as secretary.
The former Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) director said that while Mullin “doesn’t know the immigration game very well,” he&#8217;s relying on “people with 30, 40 years of experience to guide him,” adding: “That’s the way it should be.”
Mullin faced a grilling from the Senate Homeland Security Committee on Wednesday, where he was asked about how he would  &#8220;reform&#8221; ICE. The Oklahoma lawmaker admitted that there&#8217;s a need for &#8220;a better approach,&#8221; adding, &#8220;I would love to see ICE become a transport more than the frontline.&#8221;
&#8220;If we can get back into just simply working with law enforcement, we&#8217;re going to them and we&#8217;re picking up these criminals from their jail. One, we&#8217;re gonna reimburse them for having the person there and that partnership is vitally important,&#8221; he said.
During a recent hearing, Noem defended DHS&#8217; use of &#8220;administrative immigration warrants,&#8221; which aren&#8217;t signed by a judge, to enter homes. She said they&#8217;ve only been used to enter homes in 28 instances.
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/pressed-at-dhs-hearing-markwayne-mullin-walks-back-deranged-comment-about-alex-pretti?author=Jennie+Taer&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=2&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Pressed+At+DHS+Hearing%2C+Markwayne+Mullin+Walks+Back+%E2%80%98Deranged%E2%80%99+Comment+About+Alex+Pretti">Mullin</a> suggested that would change.
&#8220;We will not enter a home or a place of business without a judicial warrant, unless we&#8217;re pursuing the individual that runs into a place of business or a house,&#8221; Mullin said during Wednesday&#8217;s hearing.
When it comes to sanctuary cities, Mullin indicated that his approach would involve holding discussions with their leaders to find common ground. When Trump sent Homan into Minneapolis, he changed Noem&#8217;s approach to pressuring sanctuary cities from the vantage point of television appearances and instead sat down with local sheriffs brokering deals that promoted better cooperation with ICE.
Homan&#8217;s actions led to a drawdown of thousands of Homeland Security agents deployed to Minneapolis.
&#8220;If they&#8217;re not willing to enforce federal law and work with us, then where&#8217;s the taxpayer dollars going to?&#8221; Mullin said.
&#8220;And ideally, I would like to go in there and talk to the mayors. I&#8217;d like to go in there and talk to the sheriffs, talk to the police chiefs, say what is your concerns, how can we get past this? Because the president has made it very clear, he wants to protect the streets for every American. He wants to restore law and order to every city. I don&#8217;t think that should be controversial,&#8221; he said.
&#8220;So maybe we sit down and we just work it out,&#8221; Mullin said, adding, &#8220;If we have to do something different, then we will, but that&#8217;s where I&#8217;m going to start at.&#8221;
Asked if he would withhold federal funding from sanctuary cities and states, Mullin signaled it &#8220;would be a last option,&#8221; adding that &#8220;at the end of the day, taxpayer dollars have to be used for the right purposes and if people are refusing to enforce the nation&#8217;s laws, then I think it&#8217;s really hard to justify why we&#8217;re sending them taxpayer dollars.&#8221;
&#8220;That is not going to be my first or second or even third approach, but that would be my last resort,&#8221; Mullin said.
Noem&#8217;s firing came after she blamed Trump for questionable $200 million TV ad contracts that promoted deportations and border security.
Hours before ousting Noem, Trump told Reuters that he had no knowledge of the expensive contracts.
Noem testified during a heated Congressional hearing that the contracts “went out to a competitive bid and career officials at the department chose who would do those advertising commercials.”
The contracts were awarded using “other than full and open competition” to a company formed days before, according to records recently obtained by The Daily Wire. That company then subcontracted the work to an organization headed by the husband of Noem’s former spokeswoman.
It now appears that Mullin wants to salvage the reputation of the department in the wake of Noem&#8217;s missteps.
&#8220;I hope that I&#8217;m not on the news six months from now every day,&#8221; Mullin said during Wednesday&#8217;s hearing.
&#8220;I hope DHS is just able to be laser focused on doing their job and it isn&#8217;t controversial about taking care of the homeland. I hope people have confidence in our agency again and I&#8217;m going to work every day to restore that,&#8221; Mullin said.
Mullin&#8217;s <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/mullin-dhs-nomination-clears-committee-after-democrat-breaks-ranks?author=Jennie+Taer&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=0&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Mullin+DHS+Nomination+Clears+Committee+After+Democrat+Breaks+Ranks">nomination</a> passed a committee vote Thursday and is headed to the Senate floor.

Senate Holds Confirmation Hearing For DHS Secretary Nominee Markwayne Mullin

How Will Trump’s Mass Deportation Campaign Change If Markwayne Mullin Becomes DHS Secretary?

illegal immigration

immigration and customs enforcement

markwayne mullin

tom homan

The Senate Homeland Security Committee voted Thursday to advance the nomination of Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) to lead the Department of Homeland Security.
Mullin&#8217;s nomination will now head to a full Senate vote after clearing the committee in an 8-7 vote. The vote largely followed party lines, though Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) broke with Democrats to support the nomination.
<div id="attachment_1062285" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1062285" class="wp-image-1062285 size-full" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/GettyImages-2267258753.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="683" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/GettyImages-2267258753.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/GettyImages-2267258753-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/GettyImages-2267258753-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/GettyImages-2267258753-768x512.jpg 768w" sizes=" (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />(Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)</div>
Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), who chairs the committee, voted against Mullin after a contentious exchange during Wednesday&#8217;s confirmation hearing, where Paul raised concerns about what he described as Mullin&#8217;s “pattern” of aggressive behavior.
Paul confronted Mullin with a compilation of video clips, including remarks about settling disputes physically, statements about “not afraid to bite” in a fight, and Mullin&#8217;s previous challenge to the Teamsters president during a congressional hearing.
The Kentucky senator also referenced a 2017 assault in which he was seriously injured by a neighbor, accusing Mullin of previously appearing to justify the attack.
“You told the media that I was a freakin’ snake and that you completely understood why I had been assaulted. I was shocked that you would justify and celebrate this violent assault that caused me so much pain, and my family so much pain.&#8221;
Paul questioned whether Mullin&#8217;s past remarks made him fit to lead an agency responsible for enforcing federal law.
&#8220;I just wonder if someone who applauds violence against their political opponents is the right person to lead an agency that has struggled to accept limits to the proper use of force,” Paul said.
&nbsp;
<div id="attachment_1062289" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1062289" class="wp-image-1062289 size-full" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/GettyImages-2267253588.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="683" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/GettyImages-2267253588.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/GettyImages-2267253588-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/GettyImages-2267253588-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/GettyImages-2267253588-768x512.jpg 768w" sizes=" (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />(Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)</div>
Mullin, however, didn&#8217;t apologize or walk back any of his past statements.
“Everybody in this room knows that I’m very blunt and direct to the point. And if I have something to say, I’ll say it directly to your face,” Mullin said.
Mullin denied endorsing violence and accused Paul of misrepresenting his record.
“As far as me saying that I invoke violence, I don’t think anybody should be hit by surprise,&#8221; Mullin said.  &#8220;If I do have something to say, everybody in this room knows I’ll come straight to you, I’ll say it publicly and I’ll say it privately, but I’ll never say it behind your back.”
Mullin also attempted to strike a conciliatory tone, asking Paul to move past their dispute.
“Let me earn your respect, let me earn the job,&#8221; he said. “I’m not perfect, I don’t claim to be perfect. I make mistakes just like anybody else. But mistakes, if you own them, you can learn from, and you can move ahead. And I’ll make that commitment to you,” he added.
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If confirmed, Mullin would take over an agency facing scrutiny over its handling of immigration enforcement policies.
During an interview Wednesday, President Donald Trump&#8217;s border czar, Tom Homan, said Mullin “doesn’t know the immigration game very well,” but is relying on “people with 30, 40 years of experience to guide him,” adding: “That’s the way it should be.”
</div>

Mullin To Face Senate Scrutiny Over Ability To Lead Behemoth DHS

Mullin DHS Nomination Clears Committee After Democrat Breaks Ranks

john fetterman

rand paul

Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) grilled his Republican colleague, Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK), for appearing to &#8220;justify&#8221; a violent attack he experienced in 2017 and showing a &#8220;pattern&#8221; of aggression.
The confrontation occurred on Wednesday during a Senate Homeland Security Committee hearing on Mullin&#8217;s nomination to be secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
Paul first brought up Mullin&#8217;s previous comment, in which Mullin called Paul a &#8220;freaking snake,&#8221; and for voting against his amendment to stop funding for refugee welfare programs in February. He also later played a compilation of clips that appeared to show Mullin advocating bringing back canings for men to &#8220;settle&#8221; their differences, saying he&#8217;s &#8220;not afraid to bite&#8221; during a confrontation, and previously challenging the Teamsters president to a physical fight.
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Mullin responds: <a href="https://t.co/Su2BSJqqRD">pic.twitter.com/Su2BSJqqRD</a>
— Jennie Taer (@JennieSTaer) <a href="https://twitter.com/JennieSTaer/status/2034270096881865058?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 18, 2026</a></blockquote>
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&#8220;You told the media that I was a freakin&#8217; snake and that you completely understood why I had been assaulted. I was shocked that you would justify and celebrate this violent assault that caused me so much pain, and my family so much pain. I just wonder if someone who applauds violence against their political opponents is the right person to lead an agency that has struggled to accept limits to the proper use of force,&#8221; Paul said.
&#8220;You went on to brag that you’d already told me to my face that you completely understood and approved of the assault. Well, that’s a lie. You&#8217;ve got a chance today, you can either continue to lie, or you can correct the record,&#8221; the Kentucky lawmaker added.
Paul was assaulted in 2017 by a neighbor while doing yard work. He was left seriously injured.
&#8220;Tell the world why you believe I deserve to be assaulted from behind, have six ribs broken and a damaged lung. Tell me to my face why you think I deserved it. And while you&#8217;re at it, explain to the American public why they should trust a man with anger issues to set the proper example for ICE and Border Patrol agents. Explain to the American public how a man who has no regrets about brawling in a Senate committee could set a proper example for over 250,000 men and women who work at the Department of Homeland Security.&#8221;
Mullin then took an opportunity to respond to Paul in his opening statement, but didn&#8217;t apologize or walk back any of his previous statements.
“I have to address remarks the chairman made calling me a liar. Sir &#8230; everybody in this room knows that I’m very blunt and direct to the point. And if I have something to say, I’ll say it directly to your face,” Mullin said.
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Rand Paul &#8220;rolls the tapes&#8221; on Markwayne Mullin&#8217;s &#8220;pattern&#8221; of violence <a href="https://t.co/iymerPC77T">pic.twitter.com/iymerPC77T</a>
— Jennie Taer (@JennieSTaer) <a href="https://twitter.com/JennieSTaer/status/2034270802581876892?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 18, 2026</a></blockquote>
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&#8220;Seems like you fight Republicans more than you work with us,&#8221; the Oklahoma senator said. &#8220;I did address those remarks, I did explain your gimmicks by the amendment you put forth. And as far as me saying that I invoke violence, I don’t think anybody should be hit by surprise, I don’t like that, but if I do have something to say, everybody in this room knows I&#8217;ll come straight to you, I’ll say it publicly and I’ll say it privately, but I’ll never say it behind your back. So for you to say I’m a liar, sir, that’s not accurate.&#8221;
Mullin appeared to extend an olive branch, but Paul didn&#8217;t seem satisfied without an overt apology.
&#8220;So I can set it aside, if you’re willing to set it aside. Let me earn your respect, let me earn the job. I won’t fail you, I won’t back down from a challenge, and I&#8217;ll also admit when I’m wrong,&#8221; Mullin said.
&#8220;I’m not perfect, I don’t claim to be perfect. I make mistakes just like anybody else. But mistakes, if you own them, you can learn from, and you can move ahead. And I’ll make that commitment to you,&#8221; he added.

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Rand Paul Confronts Mullin Over ‘Anger Issues’ After ‘Freaking Snake’ Jab

congress

Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) said he regretted calling Alex Pretti a &#8220;deranged individual&#8221; after he was fatally shot by a Border Patrol agent in Minneapolis in January.
Mullin made the statement during a Wednesday Senate Homeland Security Committee hearing on his nomination to lead the Department of Homeland Security. If confirmed, the Oklahoma Republican would inherit an agency facing scrutiny over its handling of the fatal shootings of both Pretti and Renee Good in Minneapolis.
Leading up to her firing, former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem faced scrutiny for statements about the motives of Pretti and Good before the investigation concluded, accusing both of committing an act of domestic terrorism.
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Marykwayne Mullin says he regrets calling Alex Pretti a &#8220;deranged individual that came into cause max damage.&#8221;
&#8220;I went out there too fast. I was responding immediately without the facts. That’s my fault. That won’t happen as secretary.&#8221; <a href="https://t.co/kDbXXgrHDc">pic.twitter.com/kDbXXgrHDc</a>
— Jennie Taer (@JennieSTaer) <a href="https://twitter.com/JennieSTaer/status/2034273306736566624?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 18, 2026</a></blockquote>
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Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI) asked Mullin if he intends to do the same.
&#8220;After DHS officers shot and killed two American citizens this past January, you joined top administration officials in publicly blaming and disparaging the victims,&#8221; Peters said. &#8220;Following the killing of Renee Good, Secretary Noem called her a domestic terrorist.&#8221;
&#8220;You, sir, you called Alex Pretti &#8216;a deranged individual that came in to cause max damage.&#8217; Could we expect those kinds of quick responses if you are confirmed as secretary?&#8221; Peters asked.
Mullin responded bluntly that he wouldn&#8217;t do the same and expressed remorse for his previous comment.
&#8220;No, senator, I have a deep amount of respect for you. We’ve had our differences, but I do respect you. I think I&#8217;ve said this privately when we had a conversation. Those words probably should have been retracted,&#8221; Mullin said.
&#8220;I shouldn&#8217;t have said that. And as secretary, I wouldn’t. The investigation is ongoing &#8230; I went out there too fast. I was responding immediately without the facts. That’s my fault. That won’t happen as secretary,&#8221; he added.
Peters then asked Mullin to apologize to Pretti&#8217;s family, which he said he would &#8220;absolutely&#8221; do if the investigation proves him wrong.
Following the shootings, President Donald Trump sent border czar Tom Homan to Minneapolis to take over operations. In doing so, Trump replaced Noem-ally Gregory Bovino, a top Border Patrol official, who has since announced his retirement from the agency.

Pressed At DHS Hearing, Markwayne Mullin Walks Back ‘Deranged’ Comment About Alex Pretti

minneapolis

El Centro Border Patrol Chief Gregory Bovino, who was known for his aggressive roving patrols in major American cities, will soon retire.
Bovino was tapped to lead aggressive raids in Los Angeles, Chicago, Charlotte, New Orleans, and Minneapolis, where he was eventually replaced after the fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in January. He soon became the face of the Trump administration&#8217;s mass deportation campaign and was seen walking around cities accompanied by federal agents as they conducted roving patrols.
President Donald Trump replaced Bovino with border czar Tom Homan in the aftermath of the deadly shootings.
After Minneapolis, Bovino was sent back to his post at the border, ending his long reign leading the aggressive immigration sweeps across the country.
While serving as a commander for the at-large operations across the country, Bovino has aligned himself with outgoing Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, advocating for increasing arrest numbers and putting on a show of force, as previously reported by The Daily Wire. Homan, however, has long advocated for ditching quotas and focusing on nabbing the worst criminals first.
The Border Patrol official plans to leave the agency at the end of March after serving the agency since the 1990s.
&#8220;The greatest honor of my entire life was to work alongside Border Patrol agents on the border and in the interior of the United States in some of the most challenging conditions the agency has ever faced,” Bovino <a href="https://www.breitbart.com/border/2026/03/16/exclusive-border-patrol-sector-chief-gregory-bovino-to-retire-after-leading-largest-interior-immigration-operations-in-u-s-history/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> Breitbart Sunday, adding, “Watching these agents out there giving it their all in some of the most dangerous of environments we have ever faced was humbling.”
Bovino&#8217;s retirement coincides with Noem&#8217;s exit as Homeland Security secretary at the end of the month. Leading up to her firing, Noem faced backlash for tagging Pretti as a domestic terrorist without waiting for a federal investigation into the fatal shooting to conclude.
Bovino also apparently got ahead of an investigation, claiming Pretti intended to &#8220;massacre&#8221; federal agents.
Democratic Illinois Governor JB Pritzker weighed in on Bovino&#8217;s expected exit, writing on X Monday that &#8220;Bovino won&#8217;t just get to walk away,&#8221; adding that &#8220;he will be held accountable and responsible for the damage he&#8217;s done to our nation.&#8221;
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Greg Bovino won’t just get to walk away — he will be held accountable and responsible for the damage he&#8217;s done to our nation.
We won’t forget, and neither should you.
No one is above the law. <a href="https://t.co/s5BUFt7lT1">https://t.co/s5BUFt7lT1</a>
— Governor JB Pritzker (@GovPritzker) <a href="https://twitter.com/GovPritzker/status/2033620925963219309?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 16, 2026</a></blockquote>
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Border Patrol operating in Minneapolis

He Led The Nation’s Most Aggressive Immigration Sweeps. Now He’s Set To Retire.

Top Border Patrol Official Who Led Aggressive Immigration Raids In Minneapolis Set To Retire

Border Patrol

The former Trump administration official who is centering a congressional campaign around her work for the ousted Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem is employing the firm at the center of a scandal-plagued $200 million contract, which is run by the husband of another one of Noem&#8217;s top confidants.
Madison Sheahan, a junior political aide from Noem&#8217;s time as South Dakota governor who was installed as deputy director of ICE, is now running for Congress in Ohio–while living with her parents–as the woman who oversaw &#8220;strategy and execution in support of border security&#8221; for the Trump administration.
Doing work on her campaign is the Strategy Group, CEO Ben Yoho told The Daily Wire. Yoho is married to Tricia McLaughlin, who The Daily Wire has learned was closely involved in the procurement process that led to her husband profiting off of a $200 million ad campaign.
A current DHS official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told The Daily Wire that McLaughlin, the former Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs, had significant involvement in the procurement process, and is on emails about the vendor selection. That information is contrary to Noem&#8217;s testimony to Congress, when she said that the contract &#8220;went out to a competitive bid and career officials at the department chose who would do those advertising commercials.”
Noem was fired last week, in part over her handling of the $200 million ad campaign. She will leave her DHS post at the end of March.
McLaughlin acknowledged to The Daily Wire that she was part of a group of officials that heard presentations from each company that was considered for the work in February 2025. One of the successful firms later subcontracted to McLaughlin&#8217;s husband’s company, though they didn&#8217;t marry until August.
McLaughlin said DHS has no control over who a firm subcontracts with, and that she recused herself from any involvement after learning that it had subcontracted with her husband.
The admission by McLaughlin means that both portions of Noem&#8217;s testimony–that the contracts were competed and were chosen by career officials–were misleading. The Daily Wire previously reported that only three firms – approached by DHS in advance – were <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/docs-show-dhs-specifically-steered-200m-ad-contracts-raising-questions-about-noems-testimony">allowed</a> to bid. DHS said it selected them by reviewing &#8220;websites&#8221; and &#8220;industry publications,&#8221; even though such reviews would have brought up little information about the firms, all of which were politically connected.
McLaughlin told The Daily Wire that the companies made pitches to &#8220;me and a group of officials.” A justification for departing from the practice of open bidding is signed by four people whose names are redacted. One, with the title “Program Office Representative,&#8221; might contain her signature, she said, since the ads fell under her department.
Two of the three companies received contracts. Safe America Media LLC, which was incorporated just days earlier, wound up subcontracting production work to the Strategy Group, McLaughlin&#8217;s husband&#8217;s firm. Strategy Group had also done Noem&#8217;s media as governor, after, <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2026-03-06/noem-dhs-ad-blitz-benefits-firms-linked-to-trump-campaigns" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bloomberg</a> reported, the firm was introduced to Noem by Corey Lewandowski, her top aide at DHS and rumored affair partner
McLaughlin said Safe America Media LLC was one of three that DHS asked to bid because the group of DHS officials knew it was run by Patrick McCarthy and Mike McElwain, who “are some of the best in the business, they&#8217;ve had a storied, illustrious career.&#8221;
&#8220;I was just one of the people involved,&#8221; she told The Daily Wire.
The second firm was People Who Think LLC, which had overlapped with Noem aides through a previous campaign in Louisiana for Gov. Jeff Landry. Lewandowski worked for the campaign, and Strategy Group <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/posts/the-strategy-group-company_congratulations-to-governor-elect-jeff-landry-activity-7119740763407618048-o9Up/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ran ads</a> for a PAC supporting his bid.
“People Who Think is a storied company. These people all went through presentations,” McLaughlin said. McLaughlin sent a statement from DHS General Counsel James Percival calling allegations against her baseless.
&#8220;I have personally reviewed the allegations against Ms. McLaughlin, and I find them to be baseless,&#8221; Percival said. &#8220;Nothing illegal or unethical occurred with respect to these contracts. Ms. McLaughlin was not involved in selecting any subcontractors.”
Sheahan also previously worked for Landry. The congressional hopeful graduated college in 2019 before working as then-Gov. Noem&#8217;s political director. From January 2024 to March 2025, she worked for Gov. Landry as Louisiana&#8217;s Secretary of Wildlife and Fisheries, or so-called &#8220;fish cop.&#8221;
An Ohio blog called <a href="https://www.rooster.info/p/madison-sheahan-oh09-bob-paduchik-ben-yoho-garrett-arnold-corey-lewandowski" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Rooster</a> claimed that Sheahan&#8217;s appointment in the Landry administration was orchestrated by Lewandowski. It said after Louisiana fishermen were baffled by the pick, she cited her time on Ohio State&#8217;s rowing team as bona fides.
Noem then baffled Washington by picking Sheahan, who turned 28 that month, for one of the most important positions in the Trump administration&#8217;s signature effort to deport illegal immigrants. Sheahan mused to<a href="https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/kristi-noem-corey-lewandowski-dhs-fema-trump-enforcers.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> New York Magazine</a>: &#8220;At the end of the day, what really makes anybody qualified for any job?”&#8221;
<div id="attachment_1058073" style="width: 781px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1058073" class="size-large wp-image-1058073" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/Sheahan-ad-771x576.jpg" alt="" width="771" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/Sheahan-ad-771x576.jpg 771w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/Sheahan-ad-300x224.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/Sheahan-ad-768x574.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/Sheahan-ad-1536x1148.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/Sheahan-ad-2048x1530.jpg 2048w" sizes=" (max-width: 771px) 100vw, 771px" />Screenshot of Sheahan ad featuring Kristi Noem</div>
Sheahan has been at the center of concerns about spending decisions at the department under Noem.
<a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/noem-handpicked-contractors-lead-100-million-ice-recruitment-campaign-rcna261968" target="_blank" rel="noopener">NBC News</a> reported last week that Sheahan steered a second set of lucrative contracts – this time advertising to recruit ICE employees – to the same two firms. NBC said that Sheahan &#8220;threatened the job of an ICE employee for suggesting that the agency consider other contractors, according to internal communications. Sheahan said the contract award was &#8216;a decision made by the secretary,&#8217; according to internal communications.&#8221;
In September 2025, the<a href="https://newsroom.ap.org/editorial-photos-videos/detail?itemid=68360fad2b024f0b8e90f5a03f8822bd&amp;mediatype=video" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> Associated Press</a> photographed Noem, Sheahan, and Landry at a new ICE prison in the state, with Landry saying, &#8220;I&#8217;m proud to stand alongside Secretary Noem, General Bondi, Deputy Director Sheahan as we announce the opening of the Louisiana lockup, which will house the worst of the worst illegal criminal aliens.&#8221; ICE paid the state more than<a href="https://lailluminator.com/briefs/ice-angola/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> $1 million</a> a month to use the facility.
The <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/immigration/4478925/deputy-director-ice-bought-thousands-marked-vehicles-cannot-use/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Washington Examiner</a> reported this week that Sheahan, with the support of Lewandowski, had ICE purchase millions of dollars in vehicles wrapped in flashy DHS logos and slogans. The vehicles were purchased without competition, and couldn&#8217;t be used because ICE apprehends illegal immigrants by deploying unmarked vehicles, the report claimed.
DHS denied the vehicles weren&#8217;t being used in a statement to The Daily Wire: “Any allegation that these new vehicles are not being used is FALSE.”
“Thanks to the One Big Beautiful Bill, ICE finally has the resources to grow its workforce to support ICE’s mission, and that will include all types of additional vehicles,” the agency said. “These specific vehicles are supplementing the existing ICE fleet and support operations across the country.”
During the 2020 election, Sheahan was put in charge of a Wisconsin recount that wound up increasing Kamala Harris&#8217; margin of victory, a GOP operative told The Daily Wire on condition of anonymity.
&#8220;She was walking around with a lot of self-importance without actually doing a whole lot,&#8221; the operative said. He said Sheahan was brought onto the Trump campaign by Clayton Henson, a Trump campaign regional director who, like McLaughlin and Sheahan, is an operative from Ohio.
Sheahan resigned from ICE in January to run for Congress in Ohio after, The Rooster claimed, Henson played a role in redistricting. She referred questions to a consultant, Bob Paduchik, who declined to speak on the record.

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Firm At Center Of $200M Contract That Led To Noem Ouster Tied To Two Top Officials

The writing was already on the wall before President Donald Trump fired Kristi Noem from her post as Homeland Security Secretary.
Key officials tied to some projects that have received massive scrutiny for their hefty price tags left the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in the weeks leading up to Noem&#8217;s ouster.
Tricia McLaughlin, Noem&#8217;s chief spokeswoman, left the agency last month. At the time, DHS said she began planning to leave in December, but stayed on in the aftermath of the two fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis in January.
McLaughlin was tied to the scandal that led to Noem&#8217;s demise involving $200 million contracts for flashy TV ads promoting the secretary.
Last week, Noem testified to Congress that the contracts “went out to a competitive bid and career officials at the department chose who would do those advertising commercials.”
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/docs-show-dhs-specifically-steered-200m-ad-contracts-raising-questions-about-noems-testimony?author=Luke+Rosiak&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=0&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Docs+Show+DHS+Specifically+Steered+%24200M+Ad+Contracts%2C+Raising+Questions+About+Noem%E2%80%99s+Testimony" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Records obtained by The Daily Wire</a> showed that the contracts were awarded using “other than full and open competition” to a company formed days before. That company subcontracted some of the work to a group run by McLaughlin&#8217;s husband.
“The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Office of Procurement Operations (OPO), on behalf of the Office of DHS Public Affairs office intends to limit competition to three contractors,” a justification for the decision said.
A competition waiver stated that the department researched the internet and “industry publications” to choose Safe America Media LLC to produce the ads.
The subcontractor, Strategy Group, said Tuesday it “has never had a contract with DHS,” adding that “We had a subcontract with Safe America for limited production services.”
“Safe America paid us $226,137.17 total for 5 film shoots, 45 produced video advertisements, and 6 produced radio advertisements,” the company said.
McLaughlin referred The Daily Wire to a recent statement from DHS General Counsel James Percival, who said he&#8217;s &#8220;personally reviewed the allegations&#8221; against her and &#8220;find them to be baseless.&#8221;
&#8220;Nothing illegal or unethical occurred with respect to these contracts. Ms. McLaughlin was not involved in selecting any subcontractors. She is, however, a superstar in the public affairs world, so I am not surprised that she married a successful businessman whose services were attractive to these outside firms,&#8221; Percival said.
McLaughlin herself said in a phone conversation with The Daily Wire that &#8220;As soon as it became clear that my husband&#8217;s firm would at all be involved in subcontracting, which subcontracting DHS has no &#8230; there&#8217;s no legal mechanism that we can dictate who is subcontracted to,&#8221; adding &#8220;So as soon as that became clear to me &#8230; I immediately firewalled, recused myself from anything with subcontractors.&#8221;
Then-Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Deputy Director Madison Sheahan, who left the Trump administration in January to launch a campaign for Congress in Ohio, was involved in a separate $100 million campaign to recruit more immigration officers, <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/noem-handpicked-contractors-lead-100-million-ice-recruitment-campaign-rcna261968" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to NBC News. The contract was awarded to People Who Think and Safe America Media.
Sheahan previously served as the secretary of the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries and worked for Noem as she served as the South Dakota governor.
But before it was handed out to those groups, Sheahan battled with an ICE employee she threatened after he suggested that the agency consider other contractors that were offering to do the work for a cheaper price, according to NBC, which cited internal communications. The decision to award the contract, she said, was &#8220;made by the secretary.&#8221;
Sheahan called the employee into her office before yelling at him for trying to go against the secretary, an administration official who heard the conversation told NBC.
The employee eventually gave up the fight and let the contracts go to the companies of Noem&#8217;s choosing, according to the report.
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We will have our country back.<a href="https://t.co/nZkBEj4evQ">https://t.co/nZkBEj4evQ</a> <a href="https://t.co/gYKzwMJV52">pic.twitter.com/gYKzwMJV52</a>
— Homeland Security (@DHSgov) <a href="https://twitter.com/DHSgov/status/1956091376246071553?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 14, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Sheahan also wasted millions in taxpayer funds to purchase a couple of thousand flashy pickup trucks and SUVs emblazoned with ICE&#8217;s logo, despite agents working in a heightened threat environment, <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/immigration/4478925/deputy-director-ice-bought-thousands-marked-vehicles-cannot-use/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to The Washington Examiner.
Three Homeland Security sources told The Daily Wire they believe the cars only exposed them at a time when threats against ICE are at an all-time high. The sources were granted anonymity because they&#8217;re not authorized to speak publicly.
The agency traditionally uses unmarked vehicles to maintain the element of surprise and protect their safety. ICE agents currently face an 8,000% increase in death threats and a 1,300% surge in assaults, according to DHS.
One source called the decision to deploy the cars &#8220;absurd,&#8221; adding that agents who were forced to use the cars &#8220;were apoplectic&#8221; feeling they put a &#8220;huge target on them.&#8221;
Another source said it &#8220;does not make sense&#8221; &#8220;for an agency that arrests individuals hiding and trying to prevent us from doing our job.&#8221;
&#8220;The need for surveillance, the element of surprise, and the need to remain inconspicuous, requires the use of unmarked vehicles,&#8221; the source said. &#8220;We would never be able to arrest anyone rolling around in a marked ICE vehicle that would alert anyone and everyone to our presence in the area.&#8221;
DHS pushed back on claims that the cars were a waste of taxpayer funds, telling The Daily Wire that &#8220;Any allegation that these new vehicles are not being used is FALSE.&#8221;
“Thanks to the One Big Beautiful Bill, ICE finally has the resources to grow its workforce to support ICE’s mission, and that will include all types of additional vehicles,&#8221; the agency said. &#8220;These specific vehicles are supplementing the existing ICE fleet and support operations across the country.&#8221;

US-POLITICS-IMMIGRATION-ICE-PRISON

Before Noem’s Ouster, Key Officials Tied To Costly And Wasteful Projects Left DHS

President Trump is not subject to brain rot.
Kristi Noem was captured by brain rot, the online incentive structure that causes people to do dumb things for clicks and ubiquity. She&#8217;s not the only one. Tucker Carlson, Megyn Kelly, and Gavin Newsom are all terminal brain rot patients.
But Trump is not. And so he fired Kristi Noem, who took the president’s single most popular issue and proceeded to run it directly into the ground.
In April 2025, President Trump&#8217;s approval rating on his handling of border security and immigration was 49%. Strong disapproval was just 34%, according to NBC News. By February 2026, according to the same NBC News poll, his approval on the issue had dropped to 40%, and strong disapproval had jumped 15 points to 49%.
That takes some doing, but somehow Kristi Noem achieved it.
The problem wasn&#8217;t Trump&#8217;s actual immigration policy, which remains highly popular. Americans still want large-scale deportations, but they would like to focus on criminals first. The moment that Noem was replaced in Minneapolis by White House border czar Tom Homan, the Democratic hysterics stopped.
That&#8217;s not because Democrats suddenly became good-hearted border hawks on this issue. It&#8217;s because Tom Homan does what good administrators should. He quietly goes about his job in a calm, collected fashion. He actually implements policies. He doesn’t make the story about himself.
That&#8217;s the opposite of Kristi Noem, who was into photo ops, which may play well online for people who get very excited about performative politics, but do not play particularly well in mainstream America.
She called Renee Good a domestic terrorist and did it again with Alex Pretti, who similarly was shot by federal agents while resisting arrest. I agree that both the Good and the Pretti shoots were legally justifiable. But do I think either of them was a domestic terrorist with mass murder on their minds?
I don&#8217;t, and most Americans don&#8217;t. 
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But Kristi Noem proceeded to put the administration in an unwinnable public relations position by going whole hog. And she blamed everybody else in the administration for it, and then denied doing it.
In fact, she apparently spent some $220 million on an ad campaign featuring — wait for it — Kristi Noem.
She apparently put together a sweetheart deal for her friends to produce exactly those commercials.
Noem testified in front of the Senate that President Trump had cleared this use of taxpayer funds.
I do not think President Trump sat there and greenlit that commercial.
It&#8217;s one thing to direct cash to your friends, to make commercials to burnish your future presidential run. It&#8217;s another thing to then turn around and blame President Trump for that outlay.
And that wasn&#8217;t Noem&#8217;s only scandal, of course.
Obviously, the most salacious scandal involving Noem was her relationship with Corey Lewandowski, which pretty much everybody in D.C. knows likely goes well beyond the platonic.
The pair have apparently been using a luxury 737 Max jet with a private cabin in the back for their travel around the country. DHS is leasing that plane. Now they&#8217;re trying to acquire it for $70 million.
The bottom line is that Kristi Noem was not doing a good job, and it was past time for her to go.
President Trump announced yesterday that he would be replacing her with Oklahoma Senator Markwayne Mullin. He put out a statement: &#8220;I am pleased to announce that the Highly Respected United States Senator from the Great State of Oklahoma, Markwayne Mullin, will become the United States Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS), effective March 31, 2026. The current Secretary, Kristi Noem, who has served us well, and has had numerous and spectacular results (especially on the Border!), will be moving to be Special Envoy for The Shield of the Americas, our new Security Initiative in the Western Hemisphere we are announcing on Saturday in Doral, Florida. I thank Kristi for her service at &#8216;Homeland.'&#8221;
Democrats, of course, are trying to claim victory.
Gavin Newsom, fresh off of whatever anti-Israel podcast he can find, is trying to regain those hard-Left voters, saying that Noem&#8217;s firing represents a sort of retreat by the administration. He said:
“Donald Trump is in retreat. Today is a perfect example of that. With the first firing of a high-profile cabinet member, he&#8217;s in retreat, places like Minnesota, because the steel spine of citizens that stood up, real patriots in this country pushed back against all that, and you&#8217;re seeing it globally. You&#8217;re exactly right. That&#8217;s why Trump is acting out as he always does: Weakness masquerading as strength.”
But this, of course, is incredibly stupid. Trump is not retreating. He is making a smart adjustment. You think Markwayne Mullin is going to be soft on the border?
It&#8217;s obviously the right move.
And it gives an important lesson: Addiction to the clicks and the giggles of the internet rots your brain and leaves you on the wrong side of normal Americans.
Up to and including President Trump.

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