Big Take The $240 Million Ad Campaign That Helped Get Kristi Noem Fired
Mar 7, 2026
Irene Casado Sanchez, Bloomberg investigative reporter who tracked procurement and company ties, and Eric Fan, Bloomberg reporter who mapped contracts and ad targeting, unpack a $240 million DHS ad blitz. They describe the ad types, how firms were picked, links to Trump allies, where ads ran, congressional scrutiny, and how the campaign became a political liability.
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Contractors Had Close Trump And DHS Ties
- Multiple firms tied to Trump campaign operatives and DHS insiders received work, raising conflict concerns.
- Records show overlaps with Corey Lewandowski and a firm run by a spouse of a former DHS official.
Winners Were Hard To Reach Publicly
- Journalists found Safe American Media effectively unlocatable: no office, website, or public contact initially.
- Reporters visited a residential address, left letters, later obtained a phone and email but received no responses.
Ads Aired Widely But Targeting Was Inconsistent
- Ad tracking found over 92,000 broadcast spots across 1,000+ stations in all 50 states, concentrated in border states and sanctuary cities.
- Targeting was inconsistent: some high-immigrant states like Georgia were under-targeted for deportation ads.