Kristi Noem's Congress denial undermined by policy she introduced just last year
A denial made to Congress by Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem has been undermined by one of her own policies.
The policy, which Noem introduced to the department just last year, now provides evidence that the DHS head misled Congress. Asked whether Corey Lewandowski had any powers of approval for DHS contracts, Noem issued a clear "no". But her answer may not be accurate, according to approved documents that were cleared by Lewandowski.
DHS records reviewed by ProPublica show Lewandowski, a lobbyist with close ties to Trump and Noem, had personally approved contracts worth millions of dollars. This, according to Salon reporters Joshua Kaplan and Justin Elliott, directly contradicts department legislation Noem introduced last year.
Kaplan and Elliott wrote, "The records show Lewandowski personally approved a multimillion-dollar equipment contract at the agency last summer.
"That was not a one-off. Lewandowski has approved numerous contracts at DHS and often needs to sign off on large ones before any money goes out the door, the current and former department employees said."
Lewandowski approving these contracts goes against department policy introduced just last year. The pair added, "Last year, Noem imposed a new policy that consolidated her and her top aides’ power over all spending at DHS, requiring that she personally review and approve all contracts above $100,000.
"Before the contracts reach Noem, they must be approved by a series of political appointees, who each sign or initial a checklist sometimes referred to internally as a routing sheet. Typically, the last name on the checklist before Noem’s is Lewandowski’s, the DHS officials said.
"There have been widespread reports of delays caused by the new contract approval process at the agency, which has responsibilities spanning from immigration enforcement to disaster relief to airport security. DHS has asserted that the review process saved taxpayers billions of dollars."
This sign-off policy has also been used on other contracts within the Department of Homeland Security, with Lewandowski's signature also found on those documents.
"A similar sign-off process exists for other policy decisions at DHS," the pair wrote. "One of the checklists, about rolling back protections for Haitians in the U.S., emerged in litigation last year. It featured the signatures of several top DHS advisers. Under them was Lewandowski’s signature, and then Noem’s."