Kristi Noem's Disastrous Week at DHS

Kristi Noem's Disastrous Week at DHS, covered by MSNBC. This eleven-minute segment digs into a blockbuster Wall Street Journal investigation that paints a picture of dysfunction, ego, and taxpayer waste at the Department of Homeland Security. If you thought the Trump cabinet couldn't get more chaotic, buckle up.

Section 1. The Week From Hell

The host opens with a rhetorical question that sets the tone for the entire segment: how could a member of Donald Trump's cabinet possibly embarrass themselves more than Pam Bondi did at her hearing? Well, hold that thought, because late last night the Wall Street Journal dropped what the host calls "the craziest story about a Trump cabinet member we have seen since he got back to the White House." And the headline alone is something else: "A Pilot Fired Over Christine Noem's Missing Blanket and the Constant Chaos Inside DHS." That is a real headline in the Wall Street Journal.

But before the Journal story even hit, DHS was already having what the host calls a hell of a week. Mass chaos erupted after officials shut down airspace over El Paso because Border Patrol agents fired a laser, borrowed from the Department of Defense, at what turned out to be a Valentine's Day balloon. And they were planning to shut down that airspace for about ten days over it. Then there was the release of horrifying body cam footage from Border Patrol agents who shot Chicago school teacher Mary Mar-Martinez, footage that contradicts the official account of how the shooting took place. A Trump-appointed federal judge excoriated DHS over their treatment of immigrants in a Minneapolis ICE detention center. DHS was found to have improperly obtained information. And perhaps most unsettling, a 21-year-old with a taste for posting white nationalist content was apparently running DHS's official social media accounts. On top of all that, DHS is being sued by a racetrack in Idaho, alleging parents and children were zip-tied at gunpoint during an immigration raid. And Congress was barreling toward a partial government shutdown at midnight over DHS's refusal to change tactics in the wake of the Minneapolis operation. All of that, the host emphasizes, was just from this one week.

Section 2. The Blanket Incident

Now to the crown jewel of the Wall Street Journal's reporting: the blanket saga. During an official trip, Secretary Noem had to switch planes after a maintenance issue was discovered. But her blanket didn't make it to the second plane. That's when Corey Lewandowski, the former Trump campaign manager who serves as a DHS advisor and is described as Noem's unusually close companion, fired a U.S. Coast Guard pilot because the blanket got left behind.

The host pauses to really let that sink in. A Coast Guard pilot was told to take a commercial flight home as punishment. But then they had to reinstate the pilot because nobody else was available to fly them back. The host delivers the punchline with obvious relish: "Christie Noem and her, let's just call him companion, Corey Lewandowski tried to fire a Coast Guard pilot just because the Secretary of Homeland Security left her blankie on the plane." The irony is thick when you consider that this same secretary oversees packed ICE detention centers where detainees are sleeping like sardines and children are kept in cramped conditions. But Noem apparently cannot make it through one flight without something to keep her feet warm during the in-flight movie.

Section 3. Lewandowski Wants a Badge and a Gun

Then there is the saga of Corey Lewandowski trying to play policeman, which the host calls "one of my favorite details." According to the Wall Street Journal, Lewandowski made it known to top ICE officials that he wanted to be issued a law enforcement badge and a federally issued gun, despite having no law enforcement training whatsoever and not being a law enforcement official.

When Lewandowski asked ICE's legal department to write up justification for issuing him a badge and gun, a top ICE lawyer declined to sign off. The lawyer's reward for this act of professional integrity? He was placed on administrative leave. MSNBC confirmed that the ICE lawyer was actually escorted from the building after refusing to sign off on Lewandowski's request. Eventually, Lewandowski persuaded other lawyers to approve his gun-toting ambitions, and the ICE director's auto-pen was used to sign the paperwork. The host notes the dark irony that this is the same department that claimed carrying a gun lawfully was enough to justify killing Alex Predi.

Section 4. Taxpayer Money and the Big Beautiful Jet

The story is also about reckless spending on the taxpayer's dime. Kristi Noem spent over 200 million dollars of taxpayer money on ads featuring herself telling immigrants to leave the country, money that ProPublica reports was funneled to an ad firm tied to Noem personally. That number bears repeating: 200 million dollars in self-promotional ads.

Then there is the plane situation. Noem and Lewandowski have been using a luxury 737 Max jet with a private cabin in the back for their travel. DHS is in the process of acquiring this jet for approximately 70 million dollars, paid for with money from the reconciliation bill, and it's supposed to be used for high-profile deportations. But charter planes are being used for actual deportations. So the 737 has become more of a personal perk for Noem. Her staff have even taken to calling it "the big, beautiful jet" as she jets around in her various costumes. A DHS spokeswoman said the plane was used for both deportations and cabinet-level travel, but no breakdown of that split has been provided.

Section 5. Mismanagement and the TV Rivalry

Beyond the apparent grift, the story exposes Noem's wild mismanagement of the agency she runs. Noem forced all DHS contracts over 100,000 dollars to require her personal sign-off, supposedly to rein in spending. But the policy has done the opposite. One contract for bulk steel sat on her desk for so long that by the time she approved it, the price of steel had gone up by more than 100 million dollars. So in trying to control costs, she added nine figures to a single purchase.

Perhaps the most illuminating detail in the entire report is what it reveals about Noem's ego and her competition with other Trump officials. According to the Journal, Noem routinely berated her staff if she saw Border Czar Tom Homan on TV, and she kept track of both their television appearances to make sure she was on camera more than he was. The host delivers this with a wry "what a very good way to spend your time."

Section 6. Is Her Job Safe?

Even as scandal swirls around her, Noem is still desperately trying to put herself in the limelight. Just today she held a press conference in Arizona trying to take up the mantle on one of Trump's key issues. It is clear someone is trying to build up her profile while worming her way back into Trump's good graces. But it is equally clear it is not working as intended.

In one telling detail from the Journal's reporting, Lewandowski messaged Trump's pollster requesting they cut an ad to help Noem. The pollster basically ignored the ask. So while Lewandowski may have seen DHS as a launching pad for Noem's 2028 ambitions, the real question now is whether she will even still have her job through 2026. The host says he is doubtful, but with this administration, you never know.

Key Takeaways

The Wall Street Journal's reporting, backed by numerous sources within DHS, paints a devastating portrait of Secretary Kristi Noem's tenure. Corey Lewandowski, her close companion and advisor, fired a Coast Guard pilot over a missing blanket, tried to obtain a law enforcement badge and gun without any training, and had a lawyer escorted from the building for refusing to sign off on it. Noem has spent over 200 million in taxpayer money on self-promotional ads, uses a 70-million-dollar luxury jet as a personal perk, and her micromanagement of contracts cost taxpayers over 100 million dollars on a single steel purchase. Meanwhile, DHS faces lawsuits, a potential government shutdown, and a string of operational embarrassments. Even Trump appears uncomfortable with the Noem-Lewandowski situation, and her 2028 ambitions may not survive 2026.