ICE Barbie, also known as Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, is once again in the center of controversy. Rumor has it that the White House has secretly opened an inquiry against her right-hand man, Corey Lewandowski, for reportedly evading his job schedule in order to remain near the action.
It is suspected that Corey, who serves as Kristi Noem’s de facto principal adviser, undercounted his workdays in order to maintain the benefits of his unpaid special government employee position without actually clocking in. He and other special employees are legally limited to 130 workdays annually. Four administration insiders told Axios that they are fairly certain that DHS’s claim that he has only logged 69 so far is a huge underestimate.
According to sources, he has been employing cunning tactics, such as hiding in government offices with others to avoid using his badge and even utilizing his personal email and phone for official activity, which leaves no trace and undoubtedly helps him keep his numbers down.
Axios claims that the White House learned about this and has begun closely monitoring him. The White House Counsel’s office sent out a stern-looking memo on July 3 informing all SGEs that they are not allowed to go over the 130-day limit. The memo also included clear instructions on how to count those days. Following the release of that memo, DOJ and White House attorneys convened to discuss the extent of Mr. Lewandowski’s work.
Let’s now address the rumor mill, or rather, the elephant in the room:Lewandowski and Noem, who are both married to other people, have been the subject of constant rumors that they are romantically involved.
In order to highlight the vital work that Kristi Noem is doing for us while traveling to Argentina and Chile with Corey Lewandowski, the US Department of Homeland Security released this video today.Twitter: pic.twitter.com/niBCqOFtzs
July 29, 2025, Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski)
Despite their denials, they are unable to resist spending every moment of their lives together. And let’s face it, his influence only serves to feed rumors. Since Noem formally joined DHS at the end of January, Lewandowski has been by her side, sometimes taking precedence over the Deputy Secretary, traveling the world with her, directing policy briefings and contract meetings, and even appearing in the backdrop of her glitzy picture shoots.
It gets messier: according to accounts, he does everything he can to raise Noem’s profile. And without her, Lewandowski reportedly went completely crazy last month when Governor Ron DeSantis rushed in to get a first look at Florida’s Alligator Alcatraz detention facility.
There has been radio silence thus far despite media outlets frantically phoning Noem, Lewandowski, DHS, or the White House to comment. After a series of negative headlines and conflicts with other advisers and even some of Trump’s children, he oversaw Trump’s campaign from June 2015 until his removal a year later.
After the candidate informed him that he missed the fervor of that initial White House campaign, Lewandowski returned to the team years later, officially joining Trump’s 2024 campaign just months before Election Day.
The White House is circling the wagons during Lewandowski’s dubious hours, to put it briefly. In the meantime, he and ICE Barbie continue to be the most contentious power couple in D.C. at the moment due to the relationship rumors.
