Yes, that’s a photo of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem posing on a horse in front of Mount Rushmore. The image comes from the shoot of a television ad, in which Noem addresses the camera with a stern message for immigrants: “Break our laws, we’ll punish you.”
In a new ProPublica investigation, reporters Justin Elliott, Joshua Kaplan and Alex Mierjeski revealed that the firm behind that Noem ad, called the Strategy Group, secretly got money from the nine-figure ad deal.
The firm does not appear on public documents about the contract. Instead, the main recipient listed is a mysterious Delaware company created days before the deal was finalized. But, our reporting found, the firm has long-standing personal and business ties to Noem herself: It played a central role in her 2022 South Dakota gubernatorial campaign. Corey Lewandowski, her top adviser, has worked extensively with the firm. And its CEO is married to Noem’s chief spokesperson at the Department of Homeland Security, Tricia McLaughlin.
“We don’t have visibility into why they were chosen,” McLaughlin said in an interview when asked about the Strategy Group’s work for DHS. “I don’t know who they’re a subcontractor with, but I don’t work with them because I have a conflict of interest and I fully recused myself.” Her husband, Strategy Group CEO Ben Yoho, didn’t respond to questions.
In a written statement, DHS said it “has no involvement with the selection of subcontractors.” The department added that the Strategy Group does not have a direct contract with the agency, saying “DHS cannot and does not determine, control, or weigh in on who contractors hire.”
