Ex-DHS deputy now paying same firm that got Kristi Noem ousted: report

A new report from the far-right Daily Wire purports to reveal a stunning web of self-dealing among current and former Trump administration officials, surrounding the firm that cut a $200 million ad for the Department of Homeland Security.

That ad, which prominently featured former DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, ultimately contributed to Noem's firing, as she told Congress it was all done with Trump's approval, which reportedly enraged the president.

"The former Trump administration official who is centering a congressional campaign around her work for the ousted Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem is employing the firm at the center of a scandal-plagued $200 million contract, which is run by the husband of another one of Noem’s top confidants," reported Luke Rosiak. "Madison Sheahan, a junior political aide from Noem’s time as South Dakota governor who was installed as deputy director of ICE, is now running for congress in Ohio – while living with her parents – as the woman who oversaw 'strategy and execution in support of border security' for the Trump administration."

"Doing work on her campaign is the Strategy Group, CEO Ben Yoho told The Daily Wire. Yoho is married to Tricia McLaughlin, who The Daily Wire has learned was closely involved in the procurement process that led to her husband profiting off of a $200 million ad campaign," said the report.

This is a contradiction of previous claims by DHS, which said that the contract bidding process was overseen by career officials.

McLaughlin, who was one of the key people doing communications work defending mass deportation, departed the Trump administration last month.

"McLaughlin acknowledged to The Daily Wire that she was part of a group of officials that heard presentations from each company that was considered for the work in February 2025," said the report. "One of the successful firms later subcontracted to McLaughlin’s husband’s company, though they didn’t marry until August."