Louisiana Sen. John Kennedy presses Kristi Noem on Homeland Security commercials

WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. John Kennedy on Tuesday challenged Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on spending $220 million for television commercials featuring her, then questioned why she blamed a White House aide for calling protestors killed by immigration officers “domestic terrorists.”

Noem denied blaming Stephen Miller, White House deputy chief of staff, for her calling the victims “domestic terrorists” and said she acted with President Donald Trump’s blessing to make commercials made under a contract she had nothing to do with.

“I’m not saying you’re not telling the truth,” Kennedy, R-Madisonville, said about the commercials, with his hand over his heart. “Knowing the president as I do, it’s hard for me to believe you said, ‘Mr. President, here’s some ads I’ve cut and I’m going to spend $220 million running them,’ that he would have agreed to that.”

Kennedy’s interrogation of the head of the Department of Homeland Security was part of a nearly five-hour Senate Judiciary Committee hearing.

Democratic committee members revisited the killings of American citizens at the hands of federal officers enforcing immigration laws. Republican senators, on the other hand, largely praised efforts to rid the country of immigrants who entered the country illegally and blamed Democrats for shutting down Homeland Security’s subsidiary agencies, such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

The only other Republican joining Kennedy with critical questioning of Noem was Sen. Thom Tillis, of North Carolina. He was much louder and focused more on FEMA’s shortcomings in handling recovery from Hurricane Helene in 2024.

Later, during a speech on the Senate floor, Tillis said he was so angry he would stall confirmations of Trump nominees and refuse to approve any legislation, including his own, until Noem adequately answers questions.

Kennedy questions ad spending

Kennedy was more polite and low-key when he drilled down on the TV commercials, in which Noem warned immigrants who entered the country without proper documentation and those in other countries thinking about coming to America without permission that they would be deported.

“How do you square that concern for waste, which I share, with the fact that you have spent $220 million running television advertisements that feature you prominently?” Kennedy asked.

“The president tasked me with getting the message out to the country and to other countries where we were seeing the invasion come from with putting commercials out,” she said. “That has been extremely effective.”

Kennedy said his records showed The Strategy Group, one of the two agencies contracted to handle the commercials, received the lion’s share of the contracts worth about $220 million. The firm’s chief executive officer is married to Noem’s spokesperson, Tricia McLaughlin, and her top advisor, Corey Lewandowski, has worked with the firm.

The other company, Safe America Media, was formed 11 days before being picked, Kennedy said.

“The people that you ended up picking were people who had formerly done your political work back in South Dakota. Is that right?” Kennedy asked.

“No, that’s not correct sir,” Noem said.

“I think it is,” Kennedy said.

Noem said Homeland Security career officials, not political appointees, made the selections.

Kennedy pivoted to her characterizing as “domestic terrorists,” Alex Pretti and Renée Good, two U.S. citizens who were killed by federal officers while protesting immigration roundups in Minneapolis.

“I think it would be safe to say you got some pushback on that,” Kennedy said. “What got my attention is you blamed those statements on Mr. Stephen Miller at the White House, did you not?”

“No sir, where you’re seeing that is in a news article of anonymous sources,” Noem said. “I have never said that.”

Kennedy read from a January 26 news article. “Are you denying that you said that?” he asked.

“Sir, I’m not going to speak to that situation that is relayed (by) anonymous sources,” Noem responded.

“You said it. They are quoting you on the record,” Kennedy said before his time for questioning expired.

Kennedy was not the only senator to refer to Noem’s comments in press conferences after the killings. Noem repeatedly declined to retract or apologize for the suggesting Good and Pretti were domestic terrorists. She said she got the information from federal officers.

Senate Judiciary was the first to question Noem as the shutdown of Homeland Security nears the end of its second week. The House Judiciary committee is scheduled to question her Wednesday.

Democrats refuse to fund Homeland Security until Republicans agree to some safeguards on the aggressive actions of officers with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, ICE, and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, CBP.

Homeland Security also oversees FEMA, the Transportation Security Administration and other agencies. Almost all of the employees under Homeland Security have remained on their jobs without pay.