You’re not fired! One of the defining aspects of the second Trump administration so far has been the unwillingness of the Commander-in-Chief to oust senior officials who generate unwanted headlines. “Never bend, never break” is the mantra, and that means always refusing to dance to the media’s tune. War Secretary Pete Hegseth, as Americano readers will know, has survived various painful episodes, partly because Donald Trump enjoys him not backing down.
In recent days, at least three significant Trumpworld figures have been embarrassed in ways which would, under any other president, have cost them their jobs. On Tuesday, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick had to admit in Congress that, despite having spun an elaborate yarn about cutting ties with Epstein after a creepy encounter in Manhattan, he had in fact kept in touch with “Jeff,” as he called him – and in 2012 even had a family lunch with the convicted sex criminal on his infamous island. “I don’t recall why we did it, but we did it,” he testified, referring to the lunch.
Oh well, the Trump train chugs on. By yesterday, the scandalized gossip revolved around Kristi and Corey, the Mickey and Mallory of Trump 2.0, following the publication of a sensational Wall Street Journal story about the Department of Homeland Security Secretary and her alleged paramour, the indefatigable Mr Lewandowski.
It’s well-understood by now that Noem has been knocked down a peg or two following the shooting of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis. Trump wasn’t happy about Noem and Lewandowski’s combustible approach to immigration enforcement and tackling the anti-ICE protests. He duly despatched their rival, Tom Homan, the White House “border czar,” to sort out the mess. Yesterday, in a clear defeat for Noem, who dislikes Homan by all accounts, Trump announced an end to the ICE “surge” in Minnesota.
But the WSJ report suggests that life in the DHS is far more chaotic than hitherto believed: Kristi and Corey are said to treat the $100 billion-a-year department as their private fiefdom, mistreating staff and lording it over the difficult deportation program. The pair, who are both still married and have never admitted to having an affair, allegedly use a luxury 737 MAX jet, leased by their department but in the process of being bought, to fly around the country. The jet is officially to be used for “high-profile deportations,” but insiders call it Noem’s “big, beautiful jet,” a reference to Trump’s famous spending bill, which paid for it. The WSJ also claims that a Coast Guard pilot was fired because somebody had failed to bring Noem’s blanket on to the plane. The pilot was soon reinstated because the pair had nobody to fly them. Noem and Lewandowski also seem to be running an extensive PR campaign to make her look tough: according to the WSJ, Noem allocated $200 million in departmental funds for an ad campaign featuring her warning illegal immigrants to “leave now.” She’s also currently on a media tour, taking credit for the sharp dip in the murder rate under Trump.
Kristi and Corey will dismiss all claims against them as fake news. But others are left wondering: what exactly does it take to get fired from Trump 2.0? It may take a while, or an almighty scandal, to find out.
This article originally appeared in Freddy Gray’s Americano newsletter, which you can subscribe to here.
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