Donald Trump participates in a question and answers session at the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) convention at the Hilton Hotel on July 31, 2024 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
When President Donald Trump learned his then-Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem claimed he authorized a quarter-billion dollar ad campaign, he was reportedly as “mad as a momma wasp.”
“I was stunned when Noem answered categorically that the president approved every single bit of it,” Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) told Fox News. “Later that day, I got a call from President Trump. He was mad as a mamma wasp. He said, ‘Kennedy, I hope you understand that I had nothing to do with this.’ I said, ‘I do believe you, Mr. President.'”
Kennedy added, “He was not happy. It was clear to me after that conversation that the secretary’s time at the department was limited. To be blunt, she was dead as fried chicken.”
The staunch pro-Trump Republican explained why he interrogated Noem about those ads.
“The fact that she spent a quarter of a billion dollars putting ads out across America –– a quarter of a billion dollars –– in which she was prominently displayed,” Kennedy explained. “They looked a great deal like political ads. And I found that breathtaking, and when I see what I perceived to be spending porn, I don’t care who does it. I’m going to call it out.”
When he asked Noem about the ad campaign earlier this week, Kennedy was skeptical that Trump would approve the pricey agenda item.
"It’s just hard for me to believe, knowing the president, as I do, that you said, ‘Mr. President, here’s some ads I’ve cut, and I’m going to spend $220 million running them,’ that he would have agreed to that,” Kennedy told Noem. By asking that question, and getting Noem to say Trump had authorized the expense, he set her up for her own termination.
"John Kennedy was basically laying a bunch of traps around Noem and waiting for her to walk into one," senior CNN political reporter Aaron Blake posted on X. "Judging by this report, it worked."
Noem did not merely disclose her controversial spending habits during the Senate hearing. According to Adrian Carrasquillo of The Bulwark, “Her department had arrested and deported DACA recipients—the ‘Dreamers’ who are shielded from deportation and have had work authorization since 2012—at unacceptable levels.”
The Bulwark’s Andrew Egger, while skeptical about Trump’s replacement for Noem, nevertheless expressed relief at her departure.
“Trump’s pick to replace her, Oklahoma Sen. Markwayne Mullin, is a MAGA meathead of the highest order, but I’d hesitate to predict confidently that he’ll be any worse—at any rate, he’ll have his work cut out for him if he hopes to be,” wrote The Bulwark’s Andrew Egger. “And this isn’t nothing: We hope we won’t have to think about Corey Lewandowski’s sex life ever again.”
Egger’s hope may be premature. Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) suggested earlier this week that Noem may have perjured herself during her testimony.
“Evidence suggests that your testimony was false,” Blumenthal wrote in a letter to Noem regarding her negative answer to the question, “Does Corey Lewandowski have a role in approving contracts, and if so, what is that role?” The New York Times subsequently cited department records showing Lewandowski had “personally approved contracts” and employees were under the impression his signature was a “green light” for spending.