$220 Million No-Bid DHS Ad Campaign Starring Kristi Noem
$220M in no-bid taxpayer-funded "self-deportation" ads featured Noem on horseback at Mount Rushmore. One contractor was created 11 days before receiving $143M. The key subcontractor's CEO was married to the DHS official who funded the contracts.
On February 17, 2025, DHS announced a $220 million advertising campaign ostensibly to warn undocumented immigrants to "self-deport and stay out." The contracts tripled DHS's ad budget and bypassed competitive bidding by invoking the border "national emergency."
The contracts were rife with conflicts of interest:
- Safe America Media received $143 million — despite being a Delaware LLC created just 11 days before the contract was awarded
- People Who Think, a Republican ad firm, received $77 million
- Significant work was subcontracted to The Strategy Group, whose CEO Ben Yoho is married to Tricia McLaughlin — DHS's own Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs, the office that funded the contracts
- The Strategy Group had worked on Noem's 2022 gubernatorial campaign. Lewandowski brought Yoho into Noem's circle.
The flagship ad featured Noem herself on horseback in chaps and a cowboy hat at Mount Rushmore, filmed on October 2, 2025 — the second day of a government shutdown. Production costs included $20,000 on horse rental and $3,781 on hair and makeup.
Federal contract expert Charles Tiefer called the arrangement "corrupt, is the word." Senator Kennedy told Noem the ads were primarily "effective in your name recognition." When Noem claimed Trump had approved the campaign, Trump publicly denied it — reportedly the final straw before her firing.