The Briefing with Jen Psaki
Noem-zilla: Diva behavior and infidelity rumors cap disastrous week for Trump's DHS secretary
14 Feb 2026
Chapter 1: What chaos has Kristi Noem brought to the Department of Homeland Security?
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When I was sitting here on Tuesday night, I kind of thought there was no possible way a Trump cabinet secretary could have a worse week than Howard Lutnick. I mean, no possible way. Because this is what went down at the hearing he was at that day.
Did you, in fact, make the visit to Jeffrey Epstein's private island? I did have lunch with him as I was on a boat going across on a family vacation.
I mean, holy awkward Batman. I really could not imagine how it could possibly be topped. And then the next day, during a hearing about the Epstein files, Pam Bondi, the Attorney General, basically said, I see your Epstein Island visit, but have you heard about the Dow?
None of them ask Merrick Garland over the last four years one word about Jeffrey Epstein. How ironic is that? You know why? Because Donald Trump, the Dow, the Dow right now is over, the Dow is over $50,000. I don't know why you're laughing.
I mean, I can't watch that clip enough. She almost couldn't get it out. It was so ludicrous. So you see that that was Wednesday. Honestly, how could a member of Donald Trump's cabinet possibly embarrass themselves more than Pam Bondi did at that hearing?
But then late last night, the Wall Street Journal hit send on what might just be the craziest story about a Trump cabinet member we have seen since he got back to the White House. And boys, there are a lot of competition for that. And here's the headline. A pilot fired over Kristi Noem's missing blanket and the constant chaos inside DHS. That's a real headline in the Wall Street Journal.
And yes, the headline is wild, of course, but does not even begin to do this story justice. And I'm going to get into all of the insane details in just a moment. But even before we all saw that story, Kristi Noem's Department of Homeland Security was having, well, you could call it a hell of a week.
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Chapter 2: How are Democrats responding to the funding issues with ICE?
Now, we've seen two ISIS agents put on leave after they appear to have lied about an officer-involved shooting in Minneapolis, lies that may well have been parroted by DHS in their official account of that shooting.
We've also seen the release of horrifying body cam footage from the Border Patrol agents who shot Chicago school teacher Mary Marmartina's footage that, surprise, surprise, you can see it right there, also contradicts the official account about how that shooting took place.
We've seen a Trump-appointed federal judge excorciate DHS over their treatment of immigrants in a Minneapolis ICE detention center. We've learned that DHS improperly obtained the private tax data of thousands of American taxpayers while hunting for undocumented immigrants.
We've learned that a 21-year-old with a proclivity for posting white nationalist-themed content has apparently been running DHS's social media accounts. We've learned that DHS is being sued by a racetrack in Idaho, which alleges that parents and children were zip-tied at gunpoint during an immigration raid.
And we're now watching Congress barrel toward a partial government shutdown at midnight tonight over DHS's refusal to change its tactics in the wake of its cruel and out-of-control Minneapolis operation. All of that, everything I just showed you and I just walked through is just from this week, this week.
And all of that came before we got this blockbuster, deeply sourced new reporting from the Wall Street Journal about the chaos inside Christine Noem's DHS. Now, some of what is reported in this story are things viewers of the show already know, but bear repeating.
Like the fact that Noam, quote, has donned flak jackets on ice raids, posed toting a large gun and recorded messages urging immigrants to self-deport, stood before a group of imprisoned men with shaved heads packed into tight rows in a notorious El Salvadorian prison.
And she's done it all with an eye to her style, of course, with TV-ready hair and makeup, as one does, I suppose, when you're standing there as she is in front of a prison in El Salvador. Now, there are also some things in this article we didn't know, but have long suspected, like about Noam's unusually close relationship with DHS advisor and former Trump campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski.
The Wall Street Journal reports, quote, Lewandowski and Noam, who are both married, have publicly denied the reports of an affair, but people said they do little to hide their relationship inside the department. Now, what struck me about this as well, as you read the story, is this is not a single source story. There are a lot of sources in this story.
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Chapter 3: What are the implications of Trump's weaponization of the Justice Department?
What a story. Now, surprise, surprise, a DHS spokeswoman declined to address that particular episode when asked about it by the journal. But let's just pause and put a finer point on that. Kristi Noem and her, let's just call him companion, Corey Lewandowski, tried to fire a Coast Guard pilot just because the Secretary of Homeland Security left her blankie on the plane.
Keep in mind, this is the same Homeland Security secretary overseeing packed ICE detention centers, like the one you see in your screen right there, where detainees are sleeping like sardines under aluminum foil blankets, according to lawmakers, where children are kept. But Kristi Noem apparently can't make it one flight without something to keep her feet warm during the in-flight movie.
Poor Kristi Noem. Then there's the incredible saga over Corey Lewandowski's attempt to play policeman. This may be one of my favorite details. As far as we know, these two incidents are unrelated. Who knows? But according to the Wall Street Journal, Lewandowski made it known to top ICE officials that he wanted to be issued a law enforcement badge and a federally issued gun.
Despite the fact, of course, that he was not a law enforcement official and he has not undergone any law enforcement training that we know of whatsoever. Now, Lewandowski tried asking the ICE's legal center to write him a justification for being issued a badge and a gun. And when a top ICE lawyer declined to sign off on the whole thing, I wonder why, he was placed on administrative leave.
Lewandowski then eventually persuaded other lawyers to sign off on his gun-toting ambitions, feeling like a big man, Corey Lewandowski, I guess. And this is my favorite part. The ICE director's auto pen was used to sign off on the paperwork. Now, of course, DHS denies that all of this happened and claimed that the ICE lawyer was put on administrative leave for other reasons. Okay.
But MSNOW has confirmed a large part of that story tonight, also reporting that the ICE lawyer was actually escorted from the building after refusing to sign off on Lewandowski's request for a gun, according to two current and former officials.
The whole incident is especially wild when you consider that this is the same department that even claimed carrying a gun lawfully was enough to justify killing Alex Preddy. Remember that detail? And this story is about more than just Kristi and Cory's childish behavior and their companionship. It's also about their reckless spending on the taxpayer's dime.
Because the journal matched earlier reporting from ProPublica, which found that Kristi Noem spent over $200 million of taxpayer money on ads that featured her telling immigrants to leave the country. money that ProPublica reports was funneled to an ad firm tied to Kristi Noem. It's like they think people won't notice here. People notice.
Now, the Wall Street Journal also reports that Noem and Lewandowski have been using a luxury 737 MAX jet with a private cabin in the back for their travel, a plane that DHS is in the process of acquiring for approximately $70 million.
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Chapter 4: What new revelations are emerging from the Epstein investigation?
You can just keep adding all of this up on a little notebook if you would like. The plane is paid for with money from the Big Ugly Bill, and it's supposed to be used for high-profile deportations. But charter planes are primarily being used for deportations. So this private plane has become kind of more of a job perk for Nome.
Her staff have even taken to calling it the Big Beautiful Jet as she jets around in it herself in her various costumes. Maybe they're on the plane. Who knows? A DHS spokeswoman told the journal that the plane was used for both deportations and cabinet-level travel, but I would just note here that no detail on what exactly that breakdown is has been provided.
It's not just the apparent grift that makes this story so eye-popping, although it does make it eye-popping. It's also about Noam's wild mismanagement of the agency she runs. Nome has forced all DHS contracts over $100,000 to require her personal sign-off, supposedly to rein in spending. But the policy has actually done the opposite.
According to the journal, one contract for bulk steel sat on her desk for so long, by the time she actually approved it, the price of steel had gone up by more than $100 million. But maybe the most illuminating part of the entire report is really what it tells us about how much Kristi Noem sees herself as being in competition with other Trump officials.
Because according to the journal, Noem routinely berated staff if she saw border czar Tom Holman on TV and kept track of both of their appearances to make sure she was on TV more than he was on TV. What a good way to spend your time. That explains a lot about Kristi Noem, though, doesn't it?
I mean, it explains why, now that she appears to be drowning in a sea of scandal that seems never-ending, she's still trying to put herself in the limelight. I mean, just today she held a press conference in Arizona where she decided to try really, really hard to take up the mantle on one of Donald Trump's favorite issues, election conspiracies.
Now, it's very clear that someone is trying to build up her profile while worming her way back into Trump's good graces, but it's also clear that it is working the way it was intended. The thing is, Christine Noem is, she's really, really bad at her job. It's very clear. And it's becoming hard to ignore, even over at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
In one very telling part of the Wall Street Journal's reporting, Corey Lewandowski messaged Trump's pollster with a request. They needed, he wanted them to cut an ad to help Noem, the pollster, and the pollster ignored the ask, basically. So while Corey Lewandowski thought this would be a launching pad for 2028, The question really is, will she even have her job through 2026?
I'm kind of doubtful, but you never know. Joining me now is Congressman Eric Swalwell. He's a member of the House Homeland Security Committee.
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Chapter 5: How is Kristi Noem attempting to manipulate midterm elections?
He's also now a candidate for governor of California. Okay, I am sure you read this story. I just did my best to summarize that crazy story. But what stood out to you?
Well, this is why they're not being funded right now. Nobody wants to pay for this. But what really jumps off the page of the story and your lead in there is that these guys, these ICE agents, they're dragging women by their hair through the streets, chasing people through the fields in the farms where they work. They've shot a nurse named Pretty and a mom named Good.
And the only person in the world who has been held accountable by the Department of Homeland Security is the pilot who somehow forgot to move Kristi Noem's blankie.
I mean, that's bananas and you would at least expect that maybe you would have a slap on the wrist or like a thumbs down on their socials or the ICE officers would not be paid for maybe the day that they publicly executed these two individuals. No, there's been no accountability except to punitively go after a pilot. It's sick and that's why they're not being funded right now.
That pilot's got some storytelling. I am certain of it. There are so many ways to look at this. And sometimes, you know, I never want to get in the head of Donald Trump, neither do you or the Trump administration. But why do you think he is keeping Kristi Noem around at this point?
Well, he also is in a position where the only thing that matches his political decline is his physical decline. And that's quite scary because that means people like Stephen Miller, Kristi Noem, Corey Lewandowski, Tom Holman, and others are really in charge. And that's why we see an immigrant community right now that is subjected to community terror.
Now, I will say the Achilles heel, and this is what I want your viewers to like really key in on, the Achilles heel for Donald Trump is that he does not like being unpopular. Vladimir Putin, Kim Jong-un, they can tolerate being unpopular. Donald Trump cannot stand when people go to the streets, when there's wall-to-wall coverage against him, and that's when he sees it, he can change the policy.
So that's why we have to be as loud as possible. We need rock-solid governors standing up to him across the country, but rise up in the streets and then beat him at the ballot box, and we can see the best changes until we get out of this nightmare with a new president.
One of the challenges right now, and I think for everybody watching, too, is you sort of hear things projected from the administration. But then it's like trying to keep yourself abreast of what's actually happening on the ground. And Tom Holman's announcement yesterday, it did sound like a retreat in Minnesota.
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Chapter 6: What controversies surround Kristi Noem's behavior and decisions?
Let's certainly hope it is. But you spend a lot of time thinking as a member of the committee, what is actually happening with ICE around the country? I mean, there's been tons of reporting about them. buying up detention facilities, about them buying more office space, about going into additional cities.
What should people watching right now understand, even as they are pulling out of Minnesota, and let's hope that happens, about what's still really happening around the country?
Yeah, so people want accountability and they still see ICE in our neighborhoods. We saw this in Santa Clara just last weekend at the Super Bowl with ICE unnecessarily coming into the community around the Super Bowl. We have the World Cup, eight games in the Bay Area, eight games in Los Angeles. And there's a fear that ICE is going to suppress the local economy with their presence.
I was talking last week at a town hall that I had in San Jose and a woman who works at a grocery store told me, She asked, she said, when I go to the parking lot at night when my shift ends and somebody rolls up in a van and they're wearing a mask and tell me to get in, are they ICE or are they a bad guy? And people can't tell right now and they want accountability.
And so I'm very happy to see that Senate Democrats and House Democrats and even some Senate Republicans are saying, we're not going to give these guys a penny until the public executions stop, the masks come off, the identification comes out, and these guys are finally held accountable.
To that point, I mean, the deadline is technically in, I guess, just under three hours. There's not going to be a deal before then. What happens now for people watching? Because now it's still pushing for these reforms, but ICE is still funded because of the money in the big, ugly bill. So what should people expect now and what do the negotiations look like from here?
Well, Democrats should not validate or cosign on anything that they're doing. And if they're going to fund it anyway from money that they had in the past, they can do that. What we have to telegraph is that when we are in the majority, when we have the power of the purse, and that's not too far away. In fact, that could be in two weeks.
The margins are so thin in Congress, and some of them are threatening to quit Congress. right now, but when we're in the majority, we will have a lot more leverage to have the masks come off, to have body cameras on every agent, to get rid of roving patrols, to strip out the qualified immunity that makes them think they're invincible.
And as long as voters know that's what we're gonna do when we're in charge, they'll be with us. And then if people go to the streets, we go to the courts, and where we have leverage in the House and the Senate, we don't vote for the funding, we can hold this together, get through it, and then win the midterms and cut our time in hell by half.
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Chapter 7: How are lawmakers addressing the accountability of Trump administration officials?
Thanks, Jen.
Okay, up next, Don Lemon pleads not guilty to charges brought by the Trump Justice Department. After leaving court today, he said, the process is the punishment. That really stuck with me. And I think every single Trump critic who's been targeted in this way would probably agree with that. J.P. Cooney was Jack Smith's top deputy before being fired by Donald Trump.
Glenn Kirshner is a former federal prosecutor. They were former colleagues, too, something I learned today. And they join me here at the table when we come back.
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So this week, as most weeks, Donald Trump's absolute obsession with using the Department of Justice to go after his enemies was on full display. But the latest effort blew up in spectacular fashion after a grand jury refused to indict six Democratic lawmakers who posted a video reminding service members that they were obligated to refuse illegal orders.
And look, as we continue to cover Donald Trump's revenge campaign, it's important to remember that not a single one of these has actually worked. I mean, one by one, they have all failed, oftentimes in extremely embarrassing ways.
And with that in mind, today we watched independent journalist and vocal Trump critic Don Lemon plead not guilty to civil rights charges following a protest at a Minnesota church last month. Lemon says that he was there observing and conducting interviews as a journalist. And lucky for us, the entire thing was caught on tape.
So here's one part of the indictment where it says, quote, Lemon approached the pastor and largely surrounded him and physically obstructed his freedom of movement while Lemon peppered him with questions to promote the operation's message. What I just showed you on the screen is literally what they're talking about, just to give you a sense, okay? It's all on camera because he was live streaming.
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Chapter 8: What steps are being taken to investigate ties to Jeffrey Epstein?
That stuck with me. I think many people would agree. J.P. Cooney is a former federal prosecutor who was deputy to special counsel Jack Smith before he was fired by Donald Trump. And he is now jumping into the political ring as a Democratic candidate for Congress in Virginia. Glenn Kirshner is a former federal prosecutor and host of the Justice Matters podcast.
Expertise could not be more relevant than the expertise these two have right now. Thank you both for being here. Let me start with you, Glenn. And I've heard versions of this from others I've spoken to who have been targeted. It feels like the prosecution and success in the legal sense is less the point than public embarrassment, than people spending money. But what do you think?
What do you make of that?
I agree with Don that the process is the punishment. But the good news is Donald Trump can threaten to prosecute people all he wants. Right. We've been hearing for 10 years that he was going to lock up Hillary Clinton, lock her up, never did charge her.
It took him 10 years to convince folks at the Department of Justice, his current leadership, who have some real ethics deficits, to go in and start vindictively indicting people. And what do we see? You know, case after case after case is being dismissed. It's falling apart against James Comey, against Letitia James, the six members of Congress who the grand jury said, are you kidding?
They committed no crime. I'm inferring what the grand jurors said here and refused to indict them. What does that do? It exposes Donald Trump as the paper tiger he is. He can threaten prosecutions all day long, but the courts are holding strong and he cannot successfully follow through.
I feel for all the people who have to hire lawyers, who have to probably endorse sleepless nights, have to defend themselves in court, but it's exposing Donald Trump as weak, not strong. So yes, the process is the punishment, but at the end of the day, Donald Trump is losing this battle.
OK, I want to talk about your campaign, but you're here and you have so much legal expertise. So I just have one more question about this for you. Today, John Lemon and independent journalist Georgia Fort filed a joint motion to obtain the grand jury transcript. It seems like they're inferring something improper may have happened. We're all learning more about grand jury processes.
You all knew a lot about them. But for most people, we're all trying to become experts. How feasible is it to obtain those? What are they looking for as they try to acquire that information?
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