From the New York Post: Fired Homeland Security chief Kristi Noem likely sealed her fate with one answer to the Senate Judiciary Committee Wednesday — and it wasn’t the one about sex with her aide Corey Lewandowski.
Noem, who is the first cabinet secretary to be ousted during the second Trump administration, faced pointed questions from GOP Louisiana Sen. John Kennedy over a massive taxpayer-funded ad campaign where she heavily featured herself.
“How do you square that with the fact that you have spent $220 million running television advertisements that feature you prominently?” the senator asked.
Noem replied, “Sir, the president tasked me with getting the message out to the country and to other countries with putting commercials out that if they were in the country illegally, that they needed to leave.”
“I’m not saying you’re not telling the truth. It’s just hard for me to believe,’’ Kennedy replied.
Noem claimed that Trump had approved the spending, saying, “Yes sir, we went through the legal processes.”
Kennedy fired back: “Did the President know you were gonna do this?”
Noem again said yes, and Kennedy replied in shock, “He did?”
However, President Trump stated after the hearing that he was NOT AWARE of the ad campaign and did NOT authorize it.
“I never knew anything about it,” Trump reportedly said.
Kennedy also grilled Noem over the bidding process for the company that produced the ad.
“Safe America Media was a company formed 11 days before you picked them and The Strategy Group got most of the money and the head of that is married to your former spokesperson,” he noted. (Noem’s former spokesperson, Tricia McLaughlin, just resigned from DHS at the end of February.)
Sen. Kennedy grills DHS Secretary Kristi Noem:
“How do you square your concern with waste, which I share, with the fact that you have spent $220 million running television advertisements that feature you prominently?”
Noem says Trump approved the spending. pic.twitter.com/7HJJTKYcY4
— The American Conservative (@amconmag) March 3, 2026
After Noem’s firing on Thursday, reporters caught up with Sen. Kennedy, who indicated Trump was furious when he saw Noem’s response claiming he had approved the $220 million ad.
“The president, when he called me Tuesday night, the night of the hearing, when he was mad as a murder hornet, he asked me what I thought about Markwayne.”
“A. I like him.”
“B. He’s very smart.”
“C. He’s a very good businessman.”
“D. If I didn’t believe the three things I just told you, I’d lie to you because Markwayne would whip my a**.”
SEN. KENNEDY: “The president, when he called me Tuesday night, the night of the hearing, when he was mad as a murder hornet, he asked me what I thought about Markwayne.”
“A. I like him.”
“B. He’s very smart.”
“C. He’s a very good businessman.”
“D. If I didn’t believe the… pic.twitter.com/xRRhSH1o6w
— Fox News (@FoxNews) March 5, 2026
Below is the ad that reportedly got Noem in trouble:
The Strategy Group released the following statement on Tuesday, after their name was brought up in the hearing with Noem:
The Strategy Group has never had a contract with DHS. 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. If you’re going to try to question our integrity, bring actual evidence – we did.
The Strategy Group has never had a contract with DHS.
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.
If you’re going to try…
— The Strategy Group Co. (@StrategyGroupCo) March 3, 2026
Below is the full exchange between Sen. Kennedy and Sec. Noem.
.@SenJohnKennedy grills DHS Secretary Noem: “How do you square that concern with waste, which I share, with the fact that you have spent $220 million running television advertisements that feature you prominently?” pic.twitter.com/1zwl2wghyP
— CSPAN (@cspan) March 3, 2026
Democrat Rep. Jamie Raskin also blasted Noem over the ad spending, as well as the purchase of a jet.
Rep. Raskin to Noem: You budgeted an astonishing $220 million for media consultant contracts so you can star in self-promoting photo shoots. You’re living rent-free in the official waterfront residence reserved for the commandant of the US Coast Guard. You spent $172 million to… pic.twitter.com/PpIQGO9HW8
— FactPost (@factpostnews) March 4, 2026
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