Kristi Noem’s former Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spokeswoman is under fresh scrutiny over a controversial $220 million ad campaign that saw her own husband get a payday.
The Daily Wire, which describes itself as part of the “right-of-center media landscape,” reported Wednesday that Noem ally Tricia McLaughlin, 31, was among the officials who heard vendor pitches for the ad contracts in February 2025. One winning firm later subcontracted work to Strategy Group, the company run by McLaughlin’s partner, Ben Yoho.
According to the Daily Wire, a current DHS official said McLaughlin had “significant involvement” in the procurement process and appeared on emails about vendor selection.
McLaughlin told the outlet she was “just one of the people involved,” said DHS had no control over subcontractors, and that she recused herself once she learned her husband’s firm was in the chain.
DHS General Counsel James Percival called the allegations “baseless” and said McLaughlin “was not involved in selecting any subcontractors.”
That goes against the public line that outgoing Homeland Security secretary Noem, 54, gave Congress when she said the ads went through a competitive process and were chosen by career officials. The Daily Wire said only three handpicked GOP-linked firms were invited to bid.
One of them, Safe America Media, had been incorporated only days earlier, another was People Who Think. Both landed work on the immigration ads that became a flashpoint in Noem’s downfall.
When approached for comment by the Daily Beast, Yoho pointed to the statement on his company’s X account, which read: “The Strategy Group has never had a contract with DHS. We had a subcontract with Safe America for limited production services. Safe America paid us $226,137.17 total for 5 film shoots, 45 produced video advertisements and 6 produced radio advertisements.”
Fellow Noem acolyte Madison Sheahan, 29, was also not spared by The Daily Wire report. It found her Ohio congressional campaign is also using Strategy Group, the company run by McLaughlin’s husband. NBC News previously reported that, while serving as ICE’s deputy director, Sheahan threatened an employee who suggested considering other contractors for a separate $100 million ad push involving the same firms.
And as the Beast reported this week, DHS is now scrambling to fix another Sheahan-linked mess, having bought thousands of highly visible branded ICE vehicles officers now say are of little use in real enforcement work.
But for Sheahan, McLaughlin, Noem and her chief aide and rumored lover Corey Lewandowski, 52, the problem is not just the allegations—it is the source, as a MAGA-friendly outlet is now making serious claims against two of Noem’s closest loyalists. With Noem now gone, her allies either leaving or sidelined, and investigators circling the ad money, it appears the clean-up operation may not spare anyone in their group.
Trump fired Noem last Thursday and tapped Sen. Markwayne Mullin, 48, to replace her. It emerged yesterday that the ad campaign is already under scrutiny from the DHS inspector general, and Sens. Peter Welch and Richard Blumenthal have demanded documents from the firms involved by March 13.
The Daily Beast also reported this week that, inside DHS, “the knives are out” for Noem and Lewandowski over the contracts, vehicles, plane purchases, and more.
The Beast has repeatedly caught McLaughlin—as the public face of DHS’ hardline messaging machine—pushing claims that did not hold up.
Last October, the Beast showed she had falsely claimed footage of an 18-year-old U.S. citizen being detained was old Chicago burglary video and “isn’t even ICE,” despite police confirming ICE had been involved and the officer on camera wearing Enforcement and Removal Operations branding.
A month earlier, the Beast reported that McLaughlin had smeared Iris Dayana Monterroso-Lemus, 38, a mother who miscarried in ICE custody, as the subject of an active homicide warrant in Guatemala. Court documents later showed the warrant had been revoked.
The Daily Beast contacted Noem, Lewandowski, McLaughlin, Yoho Sheahan, and DHS for comment.
