The Biggest Hater Of Kristi Noem & Corey Lewandowski's Rumored Affair Isn't Who You'd Think

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Former Trump Secretary Kristi Noem's many controversies inspired myriad headlines throughout her relatively brief, 13-month tenure as a member of his cabinet. Noem's rumored affair with her unofficial chief of staff, Corey Lewandowski, has been one of the most contentious, and apparently, even the likes of White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller are disgusted by it. At least, that's what NBC News reporter Julia Ainsley claimed in her 2026 tell-all book, "Undue Process: The Inside Story of Trump's Mass Deportation Program." According to Ainsley, Miller completely abhors infidelity and is "personally repelled" by Noem and Lewandowski's dalliance as a result. 

The outspoken staffer has also reportedly told those looking for advice on how to approach the Department of Homeland Security to "stay away from Corey." The White House decried these reports in a statement to the Daily Beast: "Stephen has never had any conversations or opinions about these unsubstantiated rumors." Unsubstantiated or not, Noem was asked about the affair rumors point blank, during a March 2025 House hearing, by California Representative Sydney Kamlager-Dove, and she did not handle it well. For starters, Noem didn't deny the allegations, instead responding, "I am shocked that we're going down and peddling tabloid garbage in this committee today," per the New York Post. 

Florida Representative Jared Moskowitz eventually spelled out to her, "I really think you need to say the word 'no' into the record so that you can clear that up." Alas, she never did, despite her husband, Bryon Noem, being present at the hearing. Then, when Lewandowski was asked about the trainwreck of a hearing and how Noem's non-response to the affair rumors might have affected Trump's decision to fire her, he told the Post simply, "You're asking me to speculate on things that I have no insight into."

Kristi Noem officially getting kicked to the curb by President Donald Trump wasn't that surprising after her disastrous House hearing. Apparently, Noem's affair with Corey Lewandowski was the final nail in the coffin, according to sources who spoke to the New York Post. Before she botched her answer to the infidelity rumors, the former government employee claimed Trump had authorized her to spend $220 million on ads in which she plays the main character. The president quickly clarified to Reuters that this was a blatant lie, asserting, "I never knew ⁠anything about it." 

As news of Noem's dismissal broke, Fox News' Senior White House correspondent Jacqui Heinrich reported that Lewandowski was likely to follow suit soon. "I'm told that he's expected to leave his post as a special government employee and advisor to her [Noem] when she departs the Department of Homeland Security," Heinrich told Fox News, adding that it wasn't yet confirmed whether her senior aide would be tagging along to Noem's new job as special envoy for the newly established Shield of the Americas. Given how closely the two operated at the DHS, though, this is plausible.

Noem's most embarrassing scandals in her brief tenure as Secretary of Homeland Security will live on in infamy, and politicians on both sides of the aisle are glad she's finally gone. As California Governor Gavin wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, "Kristi Noem will go down as the most shamelessly incompetent and cruel Homeland Security Secretary in U.S. history." Minnesota Governor Tim Walz weighed in, "Kristi Noem has done a stunning amount of damage and it's good she's gone." Elsewhere, Washington Representative Dan Newhouse, a Republican, acknowledged, "A change in leadership at the Department of Homeland Security was long overdue."