Department of Homeland Security officials have claimed that President Donald Trump knew about Kristi Noem’s $200 million ad campaign, which contributed to her dismissal earlier this month, according to a new report.
The controversial commercials began hitting the airwaves early last year, with one featuring Noem on horseback near Mount Rushmore, warning illegal immigrants to stay away. They ranked among the costliest government advertising blitzes in history, raising eyebrows across the aisle.
When Trump fired Noem from DHS on March 5, an unnamed senior administration official told NBC News that the pricey ad campaign was a key factor — alongside her handling of the Minnesota immigration crackdown and alleged feuds with other agencies.
The president himself said he was unaware of the vast sums that were spent, telling the outlet: “I wasn’t thrilled with it. I spent less money than that to become president. I didn’t know about it.”
Noem, however, disputed this account, telling lawmakers during congressional hearings ahead of her firing that the 79-year-old billionaire president was fully briefed on her department’s promotional offensive.
Now, multiple people have come forward to back up the ousted DHS leader, who has been tapped to serve as the special envoy to the Shield of the Americas, a new initiative focused on hemispheric security.
Unnamed sources close to the administration told The Daily Beast that Trump had been briefed on the DHS ads and was deeply involved in them — directly contradicting his own account.
One said that the president “knew about the campaign and wanted it to happen.”
“The big question we are all asking is where did that money go?” a senior DHS official told the outlet.
“We would be happy to have a full audit on this tomorrow, going into every single penny of the award, including where it went,” the official added. “Everyone at DHS is happy to turn over our taxes and bank records — but only the White House can agree to that — will they want to?”
Contracts for the campaign were reportedly delivered to a hand-picked cluster of companies with ties to Noem and a top adviser.
One of the firms, Safe America Media, was awarded at least $16 million for the campaign, according to The Associated Press. It was established by Mike McElwain, a GOP operative, just days before the lucrative contract was doled out.
McElwain’s long-standing business partner, Pat McCarthy, has connections to several of the president’s close aides, The Daily Beast reported.
According to the outlet, the White House, in February 2025, ordered that Safe America Media “be considered” for the DHS ad campaign — and later approved the firm once selected.
When asked for comment, a White House spokesperson told the outlet: “Contracts are awarded by individual agencies. The White House has no involvement in an agency’s contract decisions.”
The Independent has reached out to DHS and the White House for comment and attempted to reach Noem.
Noem’s own messaging on the advertisements has been consistent over time.
In a recently resurfaced interview from February 2025, she claimed the multi-million dollar campaign was Trump’s own idea.
Noem said the president told her: “I want you to do those [ads] for the border. I want you to do those everywhere, not just in the United States, but I want them around the world.”
“And I said, ‘Well, sir, do you want to be in those ads?’” Noem said. “He said ‘nope, nope. I want you to do them.’”
Since her departure from DHS, the former South Dakota governor has not publicly pushed back against the administration. But, an unnamed official told The Daily Caller that she felt “thrown under the bus.”
Earlier this week, several Democratic lawmakers referred Noem to the Department of Justice for a perjury investigation, claiming that she “misled” Congress about the ads in a “brazen” bid to avoid accountability.
