A Coast Guard pilot who was flying Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem was let go after a blanket didn’t make it onto a replacement plane, according to a story in The Wall Street Journal. This incident has increased questions about Noem’s travel habits and the influence of her top advisor, Corey Lewandowski.
The Journal said the event happened during a planned switch of planes because of a maintenance issue.
The original plane was a Boeing 737 MAX used by the Department of Homeland Security.
When the blanket Noem was using didn’t transfer to the new plane, Lewandowski told people close to the situation that the pilot should be fired.
But later, the pilot was brought back because there wasn’t another pilot available to fly the plane.
A DHS spokesperson didn’t directly address the blanket issue but said Noem has made personnel choices to ensure high standards.
The Coast Guard didn’t comment when asked.
The plane involved in the story has been in the news for other reasons too.
The Boeing 737 MAX was meant for high-profile deportation flights but has also been used for trips by Cabinet members.
The department plans to buy the jet for around $70 million, which is about twice the cost of seven other planes being bought for deportation missions, the Journal reported.
A DHS representative told the Journal the plane is used for both deportation trips and official travel, saying it’s cheaper than using military planes for these kinds of missions.
The blanket issue comes at a time when there are ongoing questions about Lewandowski’s role at DHS.
Lewandowski, who worked on Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign, is an unpaid “special government employee,” which means he can’t work for the government more than 130 days a year.
DHS says Lewandowski follows the rules.
But four officials from the administration told Axios in 2024 that they believe he went over the limit.
There have been questions about how close Lewandowski and Noem are for years.
In 2021, New York Magazine reported that people in Washington thought their relationship was “widely understood.” A Federal Emergency Management Agency official called it the “worst-kept secret in D.C.”
Both Noem and Lewandowski have denied any romantic connection.
On its own, the incident might seem like a small travel mistake.
But when you look at it in the context of how much the department spends on planes, who makes decisions, and how transparent they are, it adds to concerns about how power works at DHS and who is in charge.
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