On February 22, 2026, the Department of Homeland Security announced it would suspend TSA PreCheck and Global Entry during the partial government shutdown — a plan hatched by DHS Secretary Kristi Noem and her top adviser Corey Lewandowski, who is widely described as her rumored boyfriend. The White House intervened within hours to reverse the TSA PreCheck suspension after public backlash, though Global Entry remained paused.
The Wall Street Journal published an expose detailing Noem and Lewandowski's relationship, describing their alleged affair as the “worst-kept secret in D.C.” Both are married with children. Trump, a noted germaphobe, was reportedly “aghast” when he observed the pair sharing a can of soda, telling them, “You can't do that, it's pretty obvious! You can't do that, everyone's going to know!”
Lewandowski serves as a “special government employee” at DHS, a designation that limits him to 130 days of work per year and does not require him to disclose or divest his business interests. He is operating as Noem's de facto chief of staff with no formal accountability. The TSA PreCheck debacle revealed that Noem and Lewandowski were freelancing major policy decisions that would affect millions of travelers without White House involvement or approval.
Meanwhile, Noem faces bipartisan calls for her ouster and impeachment threats from House Democrats. After ICE agents fatally shot US citizen Alex Pretti in Minneapolis, Noem compared the victim to a “domestic terrorist” — a characterization not supported by video evidence from multiple angles.