Shady New Details About Ad Campaign That Got Kristi Noem Fired Won't Help Her Reputation

Kristi Noem is from South Dakota, and she seems to want everyone to know it with Noem making a number of cowboy cosplay appearances during her tenure as the head of the Department of Homeland Security. Noem has now been fired, and it was seemingly over one of her ads that she made for DHS. At congressional hearings, Noem was grilled about multimillion dollar ad campaign that included one that she made on horseback in front of Mount Rushmore. It was reportedly her saying that Donald Trump was on board with the ads (which he later denied) that helped prompt her firing. And now, more details have come out about just how some of the money was spent on Noem's ads — including for hair and makeup and the apparent use of a horse — and it's not making things sound any better for her.

Senators Peter Welch and Richard Blumenthal requested invoices from The Strategy Group for Media, who was apparently hired as a subcontractor for the ad. The media company posted a letter on X that they sent to the senators in which they denied that any money went to Corey Lewandowski, who worked as an adviser to Noem and who's been rumored to have had an affair with her.

But it was in the invoices from The Strategy Group for Media that some people found some odd line items. That included almost $4,000 for hair and makeup, per CNN. We already knew that Noem's hair extensions likely came at a high cost. It's not quite clear how long the one minute ad took to film and why there would have been such a high cost for glam.

People also noticed that Kristi Noem's Mount Rushmore ad involved paying Jill Moody, a champion barrel racer, $20,000. The money was used for "rental of three horses, transportation, and boarding over a two-day period in October last year," per The Daily Beast. Based on Noem's Facebook activity, it appears that Moody is Noem's friend and supporter.

Some people are pointing out that some Hollywood blockbuster movies cost less to make than the Noem's DHS ads. That includes "Barbie," "Oppenheimer," and "The Hunger Games," via X.

What's also noteworthy is that the Mount Rushmore ad was filmed on October 2, 2025. That was the second day of a government shutdown. Then we have the fact that the contract for the work was completed in a no bid situation. And while you might think that would be all, the drama continues. Some people within the Department of Homeland Security have reportedly said that Donald Trump, despite his denials, did actually know about the ads and was supportive of them, which is what Noem said during her hearings, according to The Daily Beast.