Democratic lawmakers disclosed on Monday that taxpayers had footed a bill exceeding $200,000 for the production of an advertisement featuring former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. The ad depicted Noem riding horseback around Mount Rushmore.

This expenditure arose through a subcontract to The Strategy Group Company, linked to a contentious $220 million advertising initiative backed by Noem. The campaign was designed to persuade undocumented immigrants to depart the United States.

“To me, this appears to be wasteful spending, potentially fraudulent and abusive,” remarked Sen. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) after examining the ad’s production expenses.

A partial invoice reviewed by Welch and Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) revealed that The Strategy Group Company allocated $20,000 for horse rentals, $3,781 for hair and makeup, $52,599 for videography, photography, and production-related vendors, and $41,852 for miscellaneous vendors.

The company also charged $107,405 for labor expenses and included a $60,000 “signing bonus,” according to the senators’ findings.

Additionally, a magic store in South Dakota received a $500 payment from the subcontractor.

“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,” Welch said.  

Blumenthal called the spending “completely unacceptable” and an “absurd waste, fraud, and abuse of taxpayer funds.”  

“I will continue to demand the answers the American people deserve about how these funds were used and whether any federal officials profited from DHS contracts,” the senator said. 

Safe America Media secured a $143 million no-bid contract from the Department of Homeland Security in February 2025 to produce and place the spots. 

The company incorporated in Delaware around a week before inking the contract, ProPublica first reported in November.

A subcontract worth more than $286,000 went to The Strategy Group Company to shoot Noem’s Mount Rushmore ad, which promised an “American dream … as big as these endless skies” to immigrants entering the US legally — and deportation for those coming illegally.

The political consulting firm is run by Ben Yoho, the husband of ex-DHS chief spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin.

The Strategy Group Company has noted it never contracted directly with DHS. McLaughlin has similarly said her “husband doesn’t own Safe America and is not a part of it.”

On March 3, Noem told lawmakers on the Senate Judiciary Committee that DHS always abided by agency rules for contracts and denied being involved with the award process.

She further testified that President Trump personally approved the publicity blitz. 

However, in an interview with Reuters, Trump declared, “I never knew anything about it” when asked if he approved the ad campaign. He fired Noem shortly thereafter from her DHS post.