An ousted White House official is considering a campaign against a defiant GOP Senator to return to Trump's orbit, per a new report.
According to a New York Post exclusive, former advisor Corey Lewandowski is plotting to court President Donald Trump with a campaign that would pit rumored lover and former Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem against Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD).
Thune has reportedly been a headache for Trump because of the stalled SAVE America Act, a proof-of-citizenship voting bill. Thune's seat will be up for election in 2028, when Trump will be out of the White House, but Lewandowski is reportedly plotting to return from "political exile" by pushing Noem for the Senate seat, The Post wrote. Thune told reporters earlier this week that his "assumption" is that he plans to run for re-election.
"Corey is looking for ways to get back in good with President Trump," an anonymous Republican strategist told The Post. Lewandowski told conservative podcaster John Fredericks in late June that Thune is "very susceptible to a very serious Republican primary challenge," The Post noted.
"The American people will be looking at someone who has a proven history of winning an election in South Dakota to maybe challenge John Thune," Lewandowski added.
According to The Post, multiple Republicans say that Lewandowski, a former campaign advisor for Trump, considers remaining in Trump's good graces to be essential, not just for him but for his public affairs firm, Lewandowski Strategic Advisors.
"He values that relationship more than anything else," an anonymous source told The Post. Noem, however, flatly said during a statue unveiling on Friday, "I'm not planning to run for Senate in 2028."
When The Post reached Lewandowski for comment, he said, "President Trump carried the state of South Dakota by nearly 30 points. The people of that state overwhelmingly support his agenda for America."
Lewandowski added, "No politician is immune to the will of the voters," and said every Senator should pass Trump's SAVE America Act. "I would encourage every incumbent senator to achieve this objective," he told The Post.
Noem and Lewandowski were spotted together in Minnesota, riding bikes, shopping and eating together, earlier this week, sparking more rumors about their relationship.