Secretary Kristi Noem probably should pay less attention to her outfits during visits and more to her department that she has no prior experience of running or working with.
According to several reports, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is running on fumes and confusion under Secretary Kristi Noem’s leadership. There have also been reports of alleged screaming matches, delays in reports and disaster relief.
Several employees have claimed that the work culture at the department is extremely toxic and is driven by Secretary Noem and her close ally Corey Lewandowski.
New York Magazine has reported that Noem repeatedly berates DHS officials. There were a series of articles that exposed how all the agencies under her were dysfunctional and were running without proper leadership.
Apparently Noem was so angry that she used expletives and foul language with all her staff after that.
Sources have described the atmosphere within DHS as extremely chaotic. One of the officials said that the level of disrespect and yelling shocked several employees and they were taken aback by her unprofessionalism.
Gov. Josh Stein on delayed FEMA funding: “[Kristi Noem] now has to approve every reimbursement in excess of $100k and that is slowing things down dramatically…They’ve created a third bureaucratic level of review called ‘Defend the Spend’ in the DOGE committee—and that takes… pic.twitter.com/Mm0yrMVJn1
— The Bulwark (@BulwarkOnline) September 15, 2025
Noem made a decision in June that she would personally sign off all the departmental expenditure over $100,000. Earlier the threshold was up to $25 million dollars. This change has essentially crippled the agency as there are major delays in response to the crisis.
This has paralyzed the department and its ability to work. The policy change has also caused widespread bottlenecks in relief and rescue programs. It was mostly evident during the deadly Texas floods over the Fourth of July weekend.
Noem delayed signing off the funds for four days that caused the delays in Urban Search and Rescue Team to be deployed on time. Those four days were extremely crucial and many lives could be saved.
WELKER: The New York Times is reporting thousands of calls from flood victims to FEMA call centers went unanswered because you did not renew contracts…
NOEM: False reporting, fake news
WELKER: On July 7th, 15.9% of calls were answered pic.twitter.com/cHmYritoKr
— Acyn (@Acyn) July 13, 2025
Thousands of disaster-assistance requests were left unanswered because of the inefficiency of the department. FEMA also failed to renew a contract for hundreds of call center workers which left victims helpless without any support.
DHS oversees other agencies too which have also felt the impact. There was mismanagement in several of these agencies. FEMA missed out on the crucial window to save people due to monetary constraint. Contracts for airport screening equipment lapsed and even the immigration enforcement faced delayed in polygraph testing for candidates.
These failures eventually became public. And then the department had to endure the wrath of Noem and Lewandowski who reportedly held tense calls with officials and shouted at staff and assigned the blame.
The US Department of Homeland Security put out this video today to show people the important work Kristi Noem is doing for us on her trip to Argentina and Chile with Corey Lewandowski. pic.twitter.com/niBCqOFtzs
— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) July 29, 2025
Lewandowski serves as a Special Government Employee and is widely seen as Noem’s chief of staff. However, he has been blocked by the White House to hold the position formally.
It has been reported that Lewandowski micromanages DHS operations, firing and reassigning dozens of employees. This has left many staffers fearful of retaliation.
“Everything has to go through Corey,” one source told New York Magazine. “It’s all based on ‘You’re my buddy or you’re not my buddy.’”
There is also a speculation that there is a romantic relationship between Noem and Lewandowski. Though both have denied them, these rumors however are widely circulated within Washington. One of the FEMA officials has called it “the worst-kept secret in D.C.”
“Even you wouldn’t kill a dog, and you kill everything” https://t.co/WKFNDQsKqz pic.twitter.com/XrHtHOMHgt
— noah kulwin (@nkulw) September 22, 2025
So far, even President Trump summoned Noem and Lewandowski to the Oval Office to confront them about their management style.
One of the administration officials said that Donald Trump was “particularly mad at Corey” because “he can’t get along with anybody.”
However, for now, both Noem and Lewandowski are still holding their roles and critics have said that the turmoil inside DHS has no signs of ending any time soon.
