The "final straw" leading Donald Trump to dismiss Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem was her strikingly vague response during a House hearing on Wednesday when she was asked whether she had "sexual relations" with her top aide, Corey Lewandowski, sources inside and close to the White House told The New York Post.
Trump had already been growing increasingly frustrated with Kristi Noem and was reportedly close to removing her from her post. Tensions rose further after she told senators on Tuesday that he had approved $220 million worth of advertisements featuring herself. But it was her failure to give a clear answer to the question that ultimately sealed her fate.
No More Questions
"The question about the affair at the hearing turned out to be the final straw. It was f—ing brutal," one source told the New York Post, referring to Kristi Noem's response, which many interpreted as an acknowledgment that she was involved with her subordinate, Corey Lewandowski.
Her husband of 34 years, Bryon Noem, was also present at the hearing and sat beside her during the exchange.
The fired DHS chief declined to give a direct answer when she was asked whether she was having sexual relations with Corey Lewandowski, instead brushing off the question as "garbage."
"Have you had sexual relations with Corey Lewandowski?" Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-Calif.) asked Noem during the hearing.
"I am shocked that we're going down and peddling tabloid garbage in this committee today," Noem said in response. "I would tell you is that he is a special government employee who works for the White House. There are thousands of them in the federal government."
After several lawmakers continued pressing for a clear yes-or-no answer, Kristi Noem still avoided responding directly.
"I really think you need to say the word 'no' into the record so that you can clear that up," Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla.) told her.
But Noem never gave that response.
"It kept mounting up," another source told the outlet, agreeing that the moment became the final straw.
A third source added, "There was just no going back with the two hearings. It all became about her and him," referring to Noem and Lewandowski.
No More Tolerance
Trump's decision to fire Noem marked the first cabinet shakeup of his second term. The move came shortly after he told Reuters that she had lied to Congress about his approval of major advertising spending, which gave the impression that the claim was the main reason he chose to replace her with Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.).
"I never knew anything about it," Trump told the outlet.
Some of the advertising funds reportedly went to a company run by the husband of Noem's then-spokeswoman. One of the ads showed Noem, 54, riding a horse in front of the iconic Mount Rushmore, the famous landmark located in her home state of South Dakota, the outlet reported.
And her voice-over featured tough words: "You cross the border illegally, we'll find you. Break our laws, we'll punish. You harm American citizens, there will be consequences. But if you come here the right way, your American dream can be as big as these endless skies.
From President Trump and me: Welcome home."
Sources said the advertising controversy was already a major factor behind Trump's frustration with Noem, but her handling of the question about the alleged affair ultimately removed any remaining doubt about her fate.
