Donald Trump chose Kristi Noem to lead the Department of Homeland Security to reward her lover Corey Lewandowski, a new book claims.
The bombshell was revealed in Jonathan Karl’s upcoming book ‘Retribution: Donald Trump and the Campaign That Changed America,’ exposing the inner fighting and petty feuds inside Trump’s cabinet.
Karl dished on how Trump decided Noem should run DHS not because of her competency, but rather as a favor to his longtime unofficial adviser and first Republican campaign manager.
Lewandowski, a controversial figure who casts a daunting shadow over DHS, has been on the outskirts of Trump’s inner circle ever since he was fired from running the 2016 campaign at the behest of Jared and Ivanka Kushner.
Despite the setbacks, the political operative has stuck around the Trump world via his close relationship with Noem, who has been nicknamed ‘ICE Barbie’ for her appearances with agents out in the field.
The Daily Mail first reported in September 2023 that Noem and Lewandowski had been having an affair since 2019. The pair, who are both married, denied the report.
Karl reports that Noem was not on the presidential transition team’s list following Trump’s victory in November, but to the surprise of his inner circle, Trump selected her anyway.
The book states ‘When a surprised Trump adviser asked the president-elect why he had decided to nominate Noem to be secretary of Homeland Security, he had a simple answer.’
Donald Trump chose Kristi Noem to lead the Department of Homeland Security to reward her lover Corey Lewandowski, a new book claims
The bombshell was revealed in Jonathan Karl’s upcoming book ‘Retribution: Donald Trump and the Campaign That Changed America,’ exposing the inner fighting and petty feuds inside Trump’s cabinet
‘I did it for Corey,’ Trump allegedly said. ‘It’s the only thing Corey asked me for.’
‘President Trump selected the best and most qualified individuals to serve in his cabinet and work on behalf of the American people,’ White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson.
‘The tremendous results coming from the Department of Homeland Security – a historically secure border, safer American communities, and successful deportations of criminal illegal aliens – at President Trump’s direction and under Secretary Noem’s leadership, speak for themselves.’
Other parts of Trump’s world such as Steve Bannon flamed Noem’s nomination, claiming she was a national security risk.
‘We still got the global war on terror. She runs the whole thing? She runs the f*cking Secret Service? It’s all of it. It’s the global war on terror,’ Bannon said to Karl in the book.
‘It’s all that. What are you talking about? She’s never been in law enforcement!’
Bannon, a former Trump strategist, goes on to blame Lewandowski for pressuring Trump to choose Noem.
‘This motherf**ker asked for somebody who’s obviously unqualified – and it’s dangerous. This is dangerous. What are you doing?’ he said.
Noem has been called ‘ICE Barbie’ for wearing camera-ready militaristic outfits during publicized immigration raids
Trump chose Noem to lead DHS as a favor to her rumored lover Corey Lewandowski
Lewandowski serves as an adviser to DHS as a special government employee; however, insiders have claimed he actually acts as Noem’s unofficial chief of staff.
In 2023, DailyMail.com reported that married South Dakota governor Noem, 51 – who stresses adherence to ‘family values’ – and Trump advisor Lewandowski, who is also married, began carrying on an affair in 2019 or earlier.
Noem has previously denied the relationship to DailyMail.com. Lewandowski has refused to comment. Both remain married to their respective partners.
A reunion was rumored between Trump and Lewandowski during the campaign last year but now it appears the former campaign manager has found a convenient role.
‘Like Elon Musk and so many other patriots, Mr. Lewandowski volunteers his time as a special government employee (SGE) to help President Trump Make America Great Again,’ a DHS spokesperson said in a statement.
Lewandowski directed reporters to the department.
In Alex Isenstadt’s book Revenge: The Inside Story of Trump’s Return to Power, the Politico journalist wrote that Noem’s trysts with Lewandowski may have kept her from being Trump’s running mate.
The Daily Mail reported in September that DHS Chief Security Officer Richard McComb raised concerns about providing Top-Secret clearance to Lewandowski due to his financial ties to foreign nations, such as China and Israel.
The glamorous Noem – who served four terms as her state’s only member of the US House of Representatives – won the governorship in 2018 promising to uphold the wholesome family values that she said South Dakotans have ‘long embraced’
South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem has been married to her husband, Bryon Noem since 1992. Lewandowski, meanwhile, has been married to 9/11 widow Alison, since 2005, and has four children with her
McComb authored a memo detailing over a dozen concerns with Lewandowski, including the fact he was referenced in an active criminal investigation.
McComb was later pushed out of Homeland Security after nearly a decade of service.
Lewandowski did not respond to a request for comment.
Noem – who served four terms as her state’s only member of the US House of Representatives – won the governorship in 2018 promising to uphold the wholesome family values that she said South Dakotans have ‘long embraced’.
Defending ‘traditional marriage’, which she defined as ‘a special, God-given union between one man and one woman’, was particularly important to her.
It was the foundation for her beliefs, policy priorities and the ideals she lives by, said Noem, who has a son and two daughters with her husband Bryon who she married in 1992.
She has long been linked with Lewandowski, who was pushing hard for Trump to add her to his ticket.
Lewandowski, who married 9/11 widow Alison Hardy in 2005 and has four children, has never commented on the relationship.
Trump and Lewandowski have had a close relationship dating back to the 2016 presidential campaign
In October 2019 Lewandowski was working as a key advisor to Noem and accompanied her on at least a week of travel that included stops at three political events, including a dinner hosted by the Summit County Republicans
He allegedly had an affair with campaign press secretary Hope Hicks, and in the run-up to the 2016 election he was arrested for manhandling Breitbart News reporter Michelle Fields at a press conference in Florida. Charges were later dropped.
After Trump’s election, Lewandowski gained a reputation for being a loose cannon.
‘Corey was always running his mouth off, and after a few drinks you could see the pin starting to fall out of the grenade,’ a defense contractor who knew him said.
Following a party at the Trump International Hotel in Washington, singer Joy Villa filed a police report against Lewandowski for sexual assault, saying he ‘smacked my ass really hard’, and that it was ‘almost violent in nature’. He was never charged.
Villa told the Washington Post in 2024 that she was guided by her faith to forgive Lewandowski.
By 2019, he was a key advisor to Noem and the pair went on a deep-sea fishing trip hosted by the late conservative billionaire and GOP mega-donor Foster Friess, who along with his wife, Lynn, ranked among Noem’s top political and financial supporters.
In October 2019, when her state was blanketed by an early snowstorm, the governor, accompanied by Lewandowski, embarked on at least a week of travel that included stops at three political events.
In the months leading up to the 2020 election, Noem and Lewandowski became virtually inseparable companions on the Trump campaign trail.
Lewandowski jokes around with Noem during a Team Trump event
In October 2020, the two posed together at a San Diego County GOP event
By then, their relationship was an open secret at the White House and among high-level GOP lobbyists and political consultants, according to Isenstadt’s book.
Lewandowski was largely out of the headlines – aside from the talk linking him to Noem – during the Biden era but he returned with a vengeance when Trump ran to take back the White House.
Trump announced a surprise move in August to bring on Lewandowski, who he fired a month before the convention in 2016, while adding several former Trump campaign veterans to his existing staff.
An official said Lewandowski would be ‘advising senior leadership as we march to victory.’
Lewandowski instigated the ‘Let Trump be Trump’ mantra of the era and titled his book after it.
Also coming on board are Taylor Budowich, who ran the super PAC MAGA, Inc., plus Alex Pfeiffer and Alex Bruesewitz from the PAC. Tim Murtaugh, who served as Trump’s communications chief in 2020, is also coming on board.
One campaign officials called it ‘just an addition to the campaign’ and said Trump’s statement made clear it was not a shakeup of the current staff.
After the election, Lewandowski did a stint as a political commentator and remained a sounding board for Trump. He was on hand for Trump’s debate in Atlanta with President Joe Biden, flying there with Trump on the candidate’s plane.
Aides didn’t provide further explanation of his new ‘envoy’ role.
