Long wsj article about Noem, Lewandowski and their craziness [View all]

https://www.wsj.com/politics/policy/chaos-kristi-noem-homeland-security-f095ac95

After he was denied the job of Noem’s chief of staff, Lewandowski settled on a role as a special government employee, a designation under federal ethics law that allows private-sector employees to take advisory roles in government without relinquishing their outside salaries and investments, but caps government service at 130 days in a year, and generally is used for experts working on a specific project.

Lewandowski’s outsize role at the department drew enough concern from administration officials that the White House Counsel’s Office opened an inquiry into Lewandowski’s potential abuse of the special government employee role last year. 

Officials reported a much lower number of days that Lewandowski had worked to the counsel. Lewandowski was avoiding swiping into the building to stay under his service limit, according to department officials. No action was ultimately taken, and Lewandowski’s SGE status was renewed for this year, according to administration officials.


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In the blanket incident, Noem had to switch planes after a maintenance issue was discovered, but her blanket wasn’t moved to the second plane, according to the people familiar with the incident. The Coast Guard pilot was initially fired and told to take a commercial flight home when they reached their destination. They eventually reinstated the pilot because no one else was available to fly them home.

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In an incident last year that rankled some senior staff at the agency, Lewandowski made it known to top ICE officials that he wanted to be issued a law-enforcement badge and a federally issued gun, according to people familiar with his push. Officials are typically only issued a badge and a gun after undergoing law-enforcement training. 

The administration was preparing to bring on Tom Feeley, a former top ICE official in New York, as its new director when Lewandowski asked Feeley if he would be willing to issue him and several other political officials badges and guns. Feeley declined, and he was subsequently passed over for the top job at ICE.