John Kennedy Holds Kristi Noem’s Feet To Fire Over Expensive Ad Campaign

Republican Louisiana Sen. John Kennedy pressed Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem on Tuesday over her costly television advertising campaign.

Noem allegedly awarded multiple no bid contracts for a $220 million advertising campaign to companies with personal connections to her and her senior advisers, according to Democratic Vermont Sen. Peter Welch. Kennedy asked Noem about the allegations during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, telling her the cost was disturbing to him.

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“How do you square that concern for waste, which I share, with the fact that you have spent $220 million running television advertisements that feature you prominently?” Kennedy asked.

“Sir, the president tasked me with getting the message out to the country and to other countries where we were seeing the invasion come from, with putting commercials out that told them that if they were in this country illegally, that they needed to leave or we would detain them and remove them, and they’d not get the chance to come back to America the right way,” Noem said. “That has been extremely effective.”

Kennedy asked if President Donald Trump had specifically requested the advertisements. Noem asserted she and Trump discussed the ads before and after her confirmation.

“Did you bid those service contracts? Kennedy asked.

“Yes, they did. They went out to a competitive bid and career officials at the department chose who would do those advertising commercials,” Noem said.

Kennedy asked if the people who won the bids had previously done political work for Noem in South Dakota. After Noem denied it, Kennedy said he did not believe her, but she doubled down.

The DHS secretary said there had been discussions about subcontractors for the bids who did work for her in South Dakota, but asserted her department was not legally permitted to investigate subcontractors on such work.

Kennedy asked if Trump approved the $220 million ad campaign featuring Noem “prominently.” She said the president was aware of the planned campaign and asserted it had been “effective.”

“They were effective in your name recognition,” Kennedy retorted. “To me, it puts the president in a terribly awkward spot. And I’m not saying you’re not telling the truth; it’s just hard for me to believe, knowing the president as I do, that you said, ‘Mr. President, here’s some ads I’ve cut, and I’m gonna spend $220 million running them’ that he would have agreed to that.”

Kennedy also cast doubt that Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Russ Vought would have approved the campaign.

The senator said he found in his research that the DHS selected Safe America Media for the contracts and that the firm was formed just 11 days prior. Strategy Group was reportedly engaged by Safe America Media to create one of the ads.

Kennedy said the head of Strategy Group was married to Noem’s former spokesperson.

“It troubles me, a fifth to a quarter of a billion dollars of taxpayer money, when we’re scratching for every penny and we’re fighting over rescission packages,” Kennedy said. “I just can’t agree with Madam Secretary.”

“Senator, I did not have anything to do with picking those contractors … Career officials followed the competitive bid process for that,” Noem said.

The former spokesperson Kennedy was referring to was former Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin. She also denied the allegations in a Tuesday X post.

“@SenJohnKennedy , if you’re going to accuse someone of corruption you better have your facts straight. No, my husband doesn’t own Safe America and is not apart of it,” McLaughlin wrote. “He nor his company have ever had a contract with DHS. In fact, it is clear you aren’t even aware who either of the TV ad campaigns contractors are. Do your basic homework and research before dragging my or my husband’s names through the mud.”