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Michelle Hackman

👤 Speaker
502 total appearances

Appearances Over Time

Podcast Appearances

The Journal.
Kristi Noem’s $200 Million Mistake

Listeners may be familiar with that because it's the same designation Elon Musk got.

The Journal.
Kristi Noem’s $200 Million Mistake

It's supposed to be for sort of specialized private sector expertise.

The Journal.
Kristi Noem’s $200 Million Mistake

It's supposed to be for a short stint inside the government.

The Journal.
Kristi Noem’s $200 Million Mistake

But Corey Lewandowski still had a role in the private sector.

The Journal.
Kristi Noem’s $200 Million Mistake

for his own consulting firm while also effectively serving as the chief of staff at DHS.

The Journal.
Kristi Noem’s $200 Million Mistake

Now, he was supposed to serve only 130 days, but he played all sorts of games to extend that out.

The Journal.
Kristi Noem’s $200 Million Mistake

He would basically follow other people into DHS buildings so he didn't have to swipe himself in.

The Journal.
Kristi Noem’s $200 Million Mistake

So that way he wouldn't count a day.

The Journal.
Kristi Noem’s $200 Million Mistake

Anytime he traveled with the secretary, he didn't count that toward his 130 days.

The Journal.
Kristi Noem’s $200 Million Mistake

And so he kept extending this

The Journal.
Kristi Noem’s $200 Million Mistake

It's got only 18 seats, and it's got a private cabin in back.

The Journal.
Kristi Noem’s $200 Million Mistake

Now, in DHS paperwork, this thing is earmarked for high-profile deportations.

The Journal.
Kristi Noem’s $200 Million Mistake

But we were told that this was the plane that Chrissy Noem and Corey Lewandowski were flying around in.

The Journal.
Kristi Noem’s $200 Million Mistake

Basically, they set up this rule that said any contract over $100,000 had to receive personal sign-off from them.

The Journal.
Kristi Noem’s $200 Million Mistake

Now, that might sound like a good government strategy.

The Journal.
Kristi Noem’s $200 Million Mistake

You know, $100,000 is a big chunk of change.

The Journal.
Kristi Noem’s $200 Million Mistake

But DHS is a multi-billion dollar agency.

The Journal.
Kristi Noem’s $200 Million Mistake

Yeah.

The Journal.
Kristi Noem’s $200 Million Mistake

There are a lot of very big checks.

The Journal.
Kristi Noem’s $200 Million Mistake

And $100,000 in government really doesn't buy you very much.