Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem misled Congress on Tuesday about the powers of her controversial chief of staff, Corey Lewandowski, according to records reviewed by ProPublica and four current and former Department of Homeland Security officials.
Lewandowski has an unusual role at DHS, acting as a top official and helping Noem run the vast agency despite not being a paid civil servant. For months, members of Congress have asked the agency to explain in detail the scope of his job and authority.
During a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Tuesday, Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) asked Noem whether Lewandowski had a “contract approval role” at DHS. Noem flatly denied it with a “no.”
But internal Department of Homeland Security records reviewed by ProPublica contradict Noem’s Senate testimony. Records show Lewandowski personally approved a multimillion-dollar equipment deal with the agency last summer.
It wasn’t a one-off. Mr. Lewandowski has approved numerous contracts at DHS and often has to approve large contracts before the money can go out, current and former officials at the department said.
Last year, Noem imposed new policies that gave her and her aides more control over all spending at DHS, requiring her to personally review and approve all contracts over $100,000. Before the contract reaches Noem, it must be approved by a series of political appointees. Each political appointee signs or signs a checklist, sometimes referred to internally as a routing sheet. Typically, the last name before Noem on checklists is Lewandowski, DHS officials said.
Noem denies Lewandowski has a ‘contract approval role’ at DHS
Via C-Span
Under federal law, it is a crime to “knowingly and knowingly” make a false statement to Congress. However, in reality, prosecutions are rare.
A DHS spokesperson reiterated Noem’s claims in a statement. “Mr. Lewandowski was not involved in approving the contract,” the spokesperson said. “Mr. Lewandowski receives no salary or benefits from the federal government. He volunteers his time to serve the American people.” Lewandowski did not respond to a request for comment.
Multiple news outlets, including Politico, have previously reported on Lewandowski’s involvement in the DHS deal.
Delays caused by the agency’s new contract approval process, which has responsibilities ranging from immigration to disaster relief to airport security, have been widely reported. DHS claims this review process has saved taxpayers billions of dollars.
Similar approval processes exist for other policy decisions at DHS. One of the checklist concerns removing protections for Haitians in the United States, which were revealed in a lawsuit last year. It featured the signatures of several top DHS advisers. Below that was Lewandowski’s signature and then Noem’s signature.
An internal Department of Homeland Security policy document from February 2025 shows department officials, including top aide Corey Levandowski, known as “S1,” and Noem approving the policy change. United States District Court for the District of Maryland
Lewandowski is known as a “special civil servant,” a designation historically used to allow professionals to work for the government for a limited time without quitting their outside jobs. (In the early days of the Trump administration, Elon Musk was one of them.) Special public servants are required to abide by only some of the same ethics rules as regular civil servants and are allowed to have outside sources of income.
Lewandowski declined to say whether he was paid by an outside company or by whom.
