DHS Secretary Kristi Noem Is Rumored to Be in the Middle of a Long-Running Affair

Over the course of Donald Trump's first nine months in office, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has emerged as one of the most prominent members of Trump's cabinet. Noem, who has become well known for conducting a variety of PR stunts around ICE detention facilities, has earned the nickname "ICE Barbie."

Following a New York Magazine profile of Noem, rumors have begun circulating online that ICE Barbie is having an affair. More specifically, they state that Noem, who is married, is having an affair with Corey Lewandowski as the two of them work closely together at DHS. Here's what we know about whether it's true.

A senior Trump administration official is quoted in New York Magazine saying that the two are dating. “Everybody knows they’re together. Can I prove it? No. But they’re together," the official said.

What's more, the reporting in the magazine suggests that the two have been together for some time, and that both of them are estranged from the spouses that they are married to.

According to the story, after a Conservative conference in Doral, Florida in 2019, VIPs were smoking cigars as Noem walked out onto a patio and sat directly in Lewandowski's lap. “It was very romantic,” one person who saw the PDA said. “They acted like a couple, not like a political consultant and a client. It was very clear.”

While Lewandowski and Noem have not confirmed that they are in a relationship, the reporting suggests that their affair is one of the worst kept secrets in the league.

In response, DHS called the New York Magazine article a “hit piece [that] reads like a preteen rage-scrolling, then prompting ChatGPT for a screed on misogyny—complete with zero substance and maximum bulls--t."

“It’s not just lazy—it’s libelous—peddling anonymous gossip as fact while ignoring our exhaustive, on-the-record rebuttals that destroy their narrative,“ a spokesperson told The Daily Beast.

We cannot confirm for sure whether the two of them are dating, but it does seem to be an open secret in Washington, and one that has been in the rumor mill for years.

Just as crucially, though, the two appear to be running the Department of Homeland Security together, and according to New York Magazine's reporting, it's sometimes unclear which of them is actually in charge.

The story suggests that, even though Lewandowski is an unpaid and temporary government employee, he operates as Noem's "muscle" and has been by her side through much of the past five years. This appears to be at least in part because Lewandowski sees her as a rising political talent who might have national ambitions once Trump is no longer the president.

For now, though, it seems the two are at the very least working together, and maybe also doing something much more intimate. As DHS continues to occupy a prominent role inside of Trump's administration, it seems the two of them aren't going anywhere.