When Donald Trump first won the presidency, Corey Lewandowski, his former campaign manager, angled for a senior position inside the White House, only to settle for an outside job as a political consultant.
Eight years later, Lewandowksi set his sights lower. He lobbied to be named chief of staff to Kristi Noem, the incoming secretary of Homeland Security, whom he had spent years advising and promoting as a rising star within Trumps orbit, two people familiar with the situation told us.
But again he was thwarted. Trump personally nixed the idea, said the people, who requested anonymity to describe private conversations. One added that the president was concerned by the optics of Lewandowski working as chief of staff to someone with whom he had reportedly romantically. (Lewandowski and Noem have denied the claims of an affair.)
The presidents decision has not stopped Lewandowski from working closely with Noem in her new role, functioning as a traveling adviser while overseeing other employees in her office. The situation has alarmed some in Trumps circle, who view Lewandowski as a chaotic presence, even by MAGA standards. Lewandowski has a record of feuding with others who are close to the president and creating controversy. He worked as Trumps first campaign manager during the 2016 presidential race, before becoming a government-relations consultant and political adviser to Trump and other Republican politicians.
Trump remains personally close to Lewandowski, whom he has kept as a friend and ally throughout a range of scandals. But the president is also aware that many of his trusted aides and confidants deeply dislike the 51-year-old, especially after he argued last summer to Trump that he needed to make changes on his campaign. Trump eventually sided with his existing campaign leadership and asked Lewandowski to focus on New Hampshire, a long-shot state for the Republican nominee that Trump went on to lose by nearly three points. But Lewandowski continued to travel with Trump and attended his Election Night party.
A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security said Lewandowski is working as a special government employee, a temporary designation that allows him to maintain his private businesses while working in the government. Noem has not named an official chief of staff, according to the departments website.
In conversations with representatives of other government offices, Homeland Security staff have referred to Lewandowski as a supervisor of sorts. During a recent back-and-forth between Noems office and an aide to a governor, a DHS employee invoked Lewandowskis name saying, Im going to have to check with Corey, according to a person familiar with the exchange.
Since Noem was confirmed to her post in late January, Lewandowski has appeared with her on Capitol Hill and traveled with her in New Orleansto prepare security for the Super Bowl. He previously advised Noem during the transition, according to various news reports, continuing his role as a top strategist, cheerleader, and loyalist from her time as South Dakotas governor.
Lewandowski has told others that he is not interested in a government job, has no office at DHS, and is volunteering through Elon Musks Department of Government Efficiency to do work across the administration. His visits to the Capitol and New Orleans, when Noem was also present, he has said, coincided with meetings he had with other friends and colleagues.
Lewandowski declined to comment. The White House did not respond to requests for comment.
This is not the first time Lewandowski has managed to stay in Noems orbit despite the efforts of those around her to create distance.
In 2021, Noems office announced that she was ending her professional relationship with Lewandowski, after the wife of a prominent Republican donor accused him of unwanted sexual advances and of stalking her at a Las Vegas charity event. Lewandowski was also removed from the pro-Trump super PAC Make America Great Again Action and lost other political clients. He subsequently agreed to a deferred adjudication deal with Las Vegas prosecutors that included impulse-control training and community service, but no admission of guilt.
A reporter for Breitbart News accused Lewandowski of grabbing her arm at a 2016 Trump event. Lewandowski initially responded by calling the reporter delusional and writing, I never touched you, on social media. When a video confirmed that Lewandowski had grabbed the reporters arm, he was charged by Palm Beach police with simple battery, though the charges were later dropped after Lewandowski argued that he was trying to keep the reporter away from Trump.
In each instance, Lewandowski succeeded in maintaining a level of influence among Trump allies and a direct relationship with the president. He also continued to advise Noem, despite the announcement from her spokesperson in 2021 that he would no longer be advising her after the Las Vegas incident.
He never actually left the team, one person who worked in her office at the time told us, requesting anonymity to discuss private information. As well as continuing to advise her, he also continued to travel with her.
For now, at least, Lewandowski seems firmly entrenched in both Noems and Trumps circles, albeit from perhaps more of a remove. On Super Bowl Sunday, Lewandowski posted on social media various pictures from the dayriding in Trumps large official motorcade, smiling with Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry, looking down at the 50-yard line from his seats inside the Superdome.
But a postgame picture seemed to best capture Lewandowskis place in Trumpworld. He shared a photo of the nose of Air Force Oneits trademark blue, gold, and teal gleaming against the twilight of the citys darkened skyfrom a slight distance.
So long New Orleans, he wrote.