Senate Democrats have uncovered the spending details of a contentious $220 million advertising campaign spearheaded by former Secretary Kristi Noem under the Department of Homeland Security.
Noem was dismissed from her role by then-President Donald Trump on March 5 following her sworn testimony stating that she had Trump’s authorization to initiate the ads. Trump, however, denied any prior knowledge of the campaign.
Democratic Senators Peter Welch of Vermont and Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut conducted an investigation revealing how these funds were allocated.
According to their findings, Safe America Media, a company led by seasoned Republican strategist Mike McElwain, secured a $143 million no-bid contract for the campaign. This contract was subsequently licensed to The Strategy Group for execution.
Welch and Blumenthal point out that Safe America Media was established merely a week before it was awarded the contract.
The ads were produced by The Strategy Group, managed by Benjamin Yoho, whose wife, Tricia McLaughlin, formerly served as an Assistant Secretary.
The company also received a $60,000 ‘signing bonus’ as part of their contract with Safe America Media.
As far as the commercial itself, $4,000 was spent on hair and makeup for Noem, who featured heavily in the ad.
The details of the Department of Homeland Security’s spending for ex-Secretary Kristi Noem’s controversial $220 million ad campaign has been revealed by Senate Democrats
Noem was axed from her position by Donald Trump on Truth Social on March 5 after she testified under oath that the commander in chief gave her permission to push the ads. Trump denied knowing about it
Another $20,000 was spent on rentals for horses, as Noem rode at least one during the campaign commercials.
The Strategy Group claimed that labor costs amounted to $107,000, with another $53,000 for production.
A total of just $286,137 of the hundreds of millions of dollars were spent on the five film shoots and 45 video ads, along with a half dozen radio spots.
‘This looks like waste, fraud, and abuse to me,’ said Senator Welch.
‘While leading the Department of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem and her senior team allowed tens of thousands of taxpayer dollars to be spent on wasteful production costs, a shady signing bonus, and a very expensive horse rental—and that’s just what we know so far.’
The Daily Mail has reached out to The Strategy Group and the White House for comment.
DHS said in a statement: ‘Safe America Media and People Who Think are the sole contractors that DHS selected for this ad campaign. By law, DHS cannot and does not determine, control or weigh in on who contractors hire or use to fulfill the terms of the contract. Those decisions are made by the contractor alone.’
The adverts aimed to warn illegal migrants to self-deport from America or face consequences if they don’t, with one showing her sitting on a horse in front of Mount Rushmore, stating: ‘We will find you and we will deport you.’
After hearing that Noem told Sen. John Kennedy that the commander-in-chief allegedly gave her permission to go forward with the ads, Trump said he never did such a thing.
As far as the commercial itself, $4,000 was spent on hair and makeup for Noem, who featured heavily in the ad
The Strategy Group, who filmed the ads, is run by Benjamin Yoho (pictured right), the husband of former Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin (pictured left). The company also received a $60,000 ‘signing bonus’ as part of their contract with Safe America Media
But now, after Trump replaced Noem with Oklahoma Republican Senator Markwayne Mullin, DHS officials allege that Trump did know about the ads and want the White House to complete a ‘full audit’ of Noem’s advertising contract.
A source close to the administration told the Daily Beast that the president ‘knew about the campaign and wanted it to happen.’
Another told the outlet: ‘The big question we are all asking is where did that money go? We could be happy to have a full audit on this tomorrow, going into every single penny of the award, including where it went.
‘Everyone at DHS is happy to turn over our taxes and bank records – but only the White House can agree to that – will they want to?’
When asked about the claims, the White House did not address where the money had gone or if it would agree to hold an audit.
‘Contracts are awarded by individual agencies. The White House has no involvement in an agency’s contract decisions,’ the spokesperson added.
When contacted by the Daily Mail, a White House spokesperson referred to a quote Trump told Reuters, stating: ‘I never knew anything about it.’
After news of how much was spent on the ads, the Noem and the administration faced immediate scrutiny.
Oklahoma Senator Markwayne Mullin was confirmed as Noem’s replacement earlier Monday night
A source close to the Trump administration said that the president ‘knew about the campaign and wanted it to happen.’ (Pictured: Trump and Noem during a roundtable in October 2025)
Democrat Rep. Joe Neguse, who questioned Noem about the campaign during a House Judiciary Committee hearing on March 3, is one of many who is questioning the deal.
‘Corruption and self-dealing has become pervasive and endemic within the Trump administration—and the American people deserve answers,’ Neguse told the Beast.
A DHS source found this information puzzling, telling the outlet: ‘One question that should be asked is why was McCarthy brought so closely into the campaign team at that point in the campaign, when it had many ad buyers it worked with over the previous two years?’
Months later, the White House demanded that Safe America Media ‘be considered’ for the ad campaign, and that the White House signed off on them, the report stated.
A written record of that exists within the DHS and the White House, the outlet added.
Joseph Folio, the lawyer representing Safe America Media, said that the firm ‘submitted a proposal for and was awarded a contract to support DHS’s nationwide public awareness campaign, and committed substantial resources to meet an accelerated timeline on budget.’
Folio continued: ‘We look forward to providing additional information to address inaccuracies in the public reporting and ensure the record accurately reflects the scope and context of that work.’
The DHS adverts have become the third-most costly US government marketing campaign over the past 10 years, behind COVID PSRs and military recruiting ads.
Noem has since been referred to the Justice Department for a criminal investigation over alleged perjury tied to her claims that Trump approved spending for her ad campaign.
Top congressional Democrats referred her to the DOJ over ‘knowingly making false statements under oath’ to Congress.
A source familiar with the matter previously told the Daily Mail the referral appears ‘pretty weak,’ but said the questions on the advertising contracts would be the stickiest.
Oklahoma Senator Markwayne Mullin was confirmed as Noem’s replacement earlier Monday night.
