Corey Lewandowski reportedly rehired a Coast Guard pilot after firing them for leaving Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s blanket aboard a jet. The Wall Street Journal reported that, Noem and Lewandowski, after discovering no one else was available to transport the group home, hired back the Coast Guard.
Since President Donald Trump took office last year, Lewandowski has been an unpaid special government employee who unofficially serves as Noem’s chief of staff.
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Who is Corey Lewandowski?
Corey Lewandowski is a longtime Republican operative and an authoritative figure within the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) under Kristi Noem.
Lewandowski first gained attention as Trump’s inaugural campaign manager during the 2016 Republican primary. Following his campaign stint, he built a profile as a commentator and political strategist. He eventually returned to the Trump orbit during the 2014 election cycle.
Lewandowski was hired as a senior adviser at DHS following Trump’s reelection by Noem, a position that went far beyond conventional advising responsibilities, according to The Journal.
He first desired to be officially appointed chief of staff, but the White House apparently objected to that arrangement due to claims made by publications like the New York Post that Lewandowski and Noem were romantically involved.
Both Lewandowski and Noem have rejected these claims.
Now, after news of the plane incident surfaced, several political commentators, including Brian Krassenstein, have once again raised questions about their alleged relationship.
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The plane incident brought the alleged relationship between Noem and Lewandowski
According to the Wall Street Journal, a technical issue forced Noem to change planes during an official trip, but her blanket was not transferred to the next aircraft.
Lewandowski allegedly fired the pilot over the incident, instructing them to catch a commercial flight home when they reached their destination. He then had to reinstate the pilot due to the lack of a backup.
A DHS representative told the Journal that Noem has “made personnel decisions to deliver excellence” but did not refute the story.
The story was among multiple accounts of intense internal strife between Noem and Lewandowski, who made a fleeting appearance on thin ice with President Trump following the shooting deaths of two anti-deportation protestors in Minneapolis last month.