Kristi Noem appeared before the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday. Lawmakers questioned her about Department of Homeland Security spending, deportation flights and the use of a government aircraft. Seated directly behind her was her husband, Bryon Noem. He made a rare public appearance during a tense exchange that also touched on her ties to adviser Corey Lewandowski.
The hearing came a day after her testimony in the Senate.
“I want to take a personal privilege and thank my husband for being here,” Noem said at the start. She added he would need to leave to catch a flight. He sat quietly behind her for much of the session.
Many questions centered on an aircraft described in earlier testimony as being refurbished for deportation operations. Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland compared the arrangement to “buying a Rolls-Royce to turn into a Metro bus.” He asked if it would have been cheaper to buy a plane already suited for that purpose.
Kristi Noem thanks her husband for being there 😬 pic.twitter.com/BAH3HPfL7o
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) March 4, 2026
Noem said DHS aircraft are used for operational needs, including deportation flights and security missions.
The exchange shifted to Corey Lewandowski, a longtime political adviser to Donald Trump. He now serves as a special government employee advising DHS. Lewandowski was not present at the hearing.
Raskin referenced reports that a pilot was removed during a government trip after a dispute. It seems as if a personal item had been left on one aircraft and not transferred to another. He said, “Apparently, when your special blanket, your blankie, was left on one of the government jets and not transported over to the new one, your special government employee, Corey Lewandowski, chivalrously stepped forward to fire the pilot midair.”
He identified the pilot as a Coast Guard Academy graduate and commander stationed in Washington. He said the pilot was immediately rehired because no other qualified pilot was available for the return leg.
🚨HUMILIATING: Jamie Raskin just revealed Corey Lewandowski – the man Kristi Noem reportedly had an affair with – was on the plane with her when they fired the pilot… while her husband sat right behind her listening.
She built this circus. Now she gets center stage. https://t.co/FkS8m1a9HR pic.twitter.com/gcPjYHimas
— CALL TO ACTIVISM (@CalltoActivism) March 4, 2026
The Department of Homeland Security oversees roughly 260,000 employees. Customs and Border Protection, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Transportation Security Administration and FEMA all fall under DHS. Its aircraft are used for enforcement transport, logistics and emergency response.
Funding for DHS is still being discussed in Congress. And federal data says that where border encounters were over 2 million in 2022 and 2023, they declined in parts of 2024. It also said that deportation flights rose during increased enforcement missions in several states.
The questioning moved between budget details and operational decisions as the hearing continued.
But, Bryon Noem remained seated behind his wife during the exchanges. He did not speak. He stayed.
Democrat members of Congress are getting paid, but they’re withholding @TSA workers pay checks.
Democrats in Congress have chosen to not fund @DHSgov, which means that all of our TSA workers who showed up today are not getting paid.
The men and women of TSA work hard to make… pic.twitter.com/JdPsM3ozXZ
— Secretary Kristi Noem (@Sec_Noem) February 22, 2026
Earlier this week, Noem shared a video of her husband on social media from the airport. In the clip, she stood near a security checkpoint and pointed to her husband before he traveled back to South Dakota. They briefly waved at each other. Still, the message had been delivered.
Most intriguingly, the man who prefers to remain behind the scenes has been outed twice this week already.
Inside the hearing room, the discussion continued after he exited. But whether the rumors of her ties to Lewandowski will stop remains to be seen.
