President Donald Trump was quizzed on Monday about his thoughts on Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s alleged relationship with her top aide, Corey Lewandowski.
During a press gaggle aboard Air Force One, the president was asked about recent news reports on the pair’s rumored relationship, whether he thought it was “a bad look” and whether he felt she would remain in her position for much longer.
“I don’t know about that,” Trump replied, adding, “I mean, I haven’t heard that.”
He then told reporters, “I’ll find out about it, but I have not heard about it.”
A DHS spokesperson told the Daily Beast, “This Department doesn’t waste time with salacious, baseless gossip—we have actual work to do keeping the American homeland and its citizens safe. Something the last Administration failed to do for four years.”
Noem, 54, has long been rumored to be in a relationship with Lewandowski, 52, despite both being married to other people; one FEMA official even described their relationship as the “worst-kept secret in D.C.”
Lewandowski works as Noem’s top adviser and is her de facto chief of staff. Although his position as an unpaid special government employee allows him to work 130 days a year without disclosing or relinquishing his other business interests, he has been accused of undercounting his hours to retain his position.
Both Noem and Lewandowski have denied the rumors.
The president’s public denial is at odds with reports of his private behavior, which suggest he is fully aware of Noem and Lewandowski’s relationship and regularly brags about busting them.
Sources told the New York Post that Trump regularly tells the same story about catching Noem and Lewandowski drinking from the same soda can, which the 79-year-old, a known germaphobe, described as a dead giveaway.
“You can’t do that, it’s pretty obvious!” Trump has said, according to the Post’s sources. “You can’t do that, everyone’s going to know!”
The pair has not been subtle about their relationship either, regularly traveling aboard a luxury private jet earmarked for high-profile deportations and making use of a private cabin on board.
Lewandowski reportedly fired the U.S. Coast Guard pilot of the plane after a bizarre incident in which Noem’s blanket was left behind on a different plane, only to be forced to reinstate the pilot after nobody else was available to fly the pair home.
Noem’s alleged lover also ruffled feathers within the Department of Homeland Security last year after he sought a law-enforcement badge and a federally issued gun despite not having undergone the requisite training.
Following the removal of Border Patrol commander-at-large Gregory Bovino from Minneapolis last month, a source told the Atlantic that Noem and Lewandowski were also at risk of being ousted, triggering the pair to attend an emergency late-night meeting with Trump in the Oval Office.
Noem has continued to keep Lewandowski by her side despite Trump’s refusal to make his employment arrangement official, a decision he has reportedly made in part because of the persistent rumors regarding the pair’s relationship.
As a result, Lewandowki is one of the most powerful people in the department, with one senior administration official telling Axios, “Kristi is the face of DHS. Corey is the brains. He gets things done.”
