Kristi Noem squirmed on Wednesday as lawmakers grilled her over the ‘chivalrous’ behavior of her rumored lover while her husband sat feet away.
Noem took questions from Democrats and Republicans during a House hearing over her leadership of Homeland Security as the department becomes engulfed in a whirlwind of scandals.
Controversy has followed Noem over her use of taxpayer-funded private jets to travel across the country with Corey Lewandowski, who the Daily Mail has reported is both her lover and the man effectively running her department. Noem and Lewandowski, both married, deny the romantic relationship.
Noem’s husband Bryon, the father of their three children, sat directly behind her throughout, stone-faced, as the questions over Lewandowski kept coming.
Democratic Representative Jamie Raskin cited an incident last spring in which Lewandowski fired and then rehired a pilot because Noem had forgotten a blanket on a government jet, though the Daily Mail later reported the dismissal was over a bag.
‘When your special blanket, your blankie, was left on one of the government jets and not transported over to the new one, your special government employee, Corey Lewandowski, chivalrously stepped forward to fire the pilot – mid-air’, said Raskin.
Raskin added: ‘You’re flying high now, maybe even a little bit too close to the sun, but with all these free planes and houses and pilots, you’ve traveled a long distance from your actual job and the things you should be doing as head of Homeland Security.’
The Homeland Security Secretary did not respond. She has appeared frequently with Lewandowski at public events and meetings with the President at the White House.
Noem’s decision to appear alongside Bryon was a calculated play on ‘optics’ as rumors continue to swirl about their marriage, a DHS source told the Daily Mail.
Noem’s husband, Bryon, could be seen sitting behind his wife with a deadpan expression as she faced continued grilling over her relationship with Lewandowski
The Homeland Security Secretary wore a gold watch and a $700 Veronica Beard double-breasted tweed blazer
Noem has also empowered Lewandowski to approve six-figure government contracts
The Daily Mail previously reported that Noem and Lewandowski have been engaged in a years-long romantic affair. Both are married and have denied the claims
‘The fact she’s bringing her family to these events instead of the usual Lewandowski tells me she’s aware of how she looks in the media and that she’s trying to get the news cycles about her and Lewandowski behind her,’ the official said.
Noem’s use of a luxury private jet has alarmed senior Republicans. ICE, which falls under her jurisdiction, has leased a $70 million Boeing for months.
The mother-of-three, 54, has also empowered Lewandowski to approve six-figure government contracts.
His official role at DHS is as a Special Government Employee (SGE), a temporary but restricted title that allows outside experts to work in the federal bureaucracy without leaving the private sector.
Homeland Security sources, however, have raised concerns that Lewandowski is operating beyond the limits of his SGE role and is effectively running the department, issuing orders to top officials on Noem’s behalf.
The heat came from her own side too, as Republican lawmakers piled on at the House hearing.
GOP Senator Thom Tillis branded her leadership a ‘disaster,’ demanded her resignation and raised allegations of corruption inside DHS.
Democratic Representative Jamie Raskin on Wednesday cited an incident last Spring where Lewandowski fired and then rehired a pilot
Kristi Noem arrives to testify before a House Judiciary Committee hearing on ‘Oversight of the Department of Homeland Security,’ on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on Wednesday
US Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem (L) stands for the US Pledge of Allegiance in front of her husband Bryon at the start of a House Judiciary Committee hearing
Kristi Noem testifies before the House Judiciary Committee
She was attacked by a second Republican senator, John Kennedy, over the blame game that erupted between the Homeland Security Secretary and the White House.
Noem labeled Alex Pretti a domestic terrorist after he was shot dead by immigration agents during the Minneapolis crackdown in January.
She later blamed the White House and Stephen Miller for the remarks, Axios reported.
Kennedy, a hardline conservative and Trump backer, told her: ‘What got my attention was that you blamed [the domestic terrorist] statements on Stephen Miller at the White House.’
The senator read from her statement to Axios on January 27, where Noem said: ‘Everything I’ve done, I’ve done at the direction of the President and Stephen.’
Noem refused to respond under oath: ‘Sir, I’m not going to speak to that situation that is relayed by anonymous sources.’
