ICYMI: Rep. Neguse’s “Consequential Questioning” of Kristi Noem on $200M+ Taxpayer-Funded Ad Campaign Leads to Her Termination
Washington, D.C. — Colorado Congressman joined CNN’s The Lead with Jake Tapper to give his live reaction on President Donald Trump firing Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. Her ousting comes less than 48 hours after House and Senate hearings in which she attempted to evade accountability regarding allegations of fraud, corruption, and conflicts of interest surrounding a $220 million, taxpayer-funded ad campaign.
Congressman Neguse was a leading voice in what would apparently become the final tipping point for Noem. During Wednesday’s hearing, he pressed her on the specifics of a $143 million contract awarded to a company incorporated just a week before receiving federal funding and tied to longtime Republican operatives in Noem’s inner circle.
Public reporting suggests that Noem’s testimony regarding the contract ultimately led to her termination.
View Neguse’s interview on CNN with Jake Tapper HERE.
JAKE TAPPER: Let's bring in the lawmaker you heard questioning Noem there, Democrat Joe Neguse of Colorado. Thanks so much for being here, appreciate it. So pretty consequential questioning and answering there. The Secretary told you it had been a “competitive bid process” for the contractors who produced the ad campaign. But after you did some digging, you found out that might not be the case. What else did you find?
REP. NEGUSE: Good to be with you, Jake. That was a lie. I mean, clearly, the Secretary stated a number of mistruths both before the Senate Judiciary Committee as well as the House Judiciary Committee with respect to the contracting. As you noted, they skipped the “competitive bidding process” so that they could ultimately ensure that the contractors that were awarded these contracts would get those contracts. And one of them happened to be connected to a political operative — a Republican political operative. The company was registered just days before the contract solicitation actually went out. So, in my view, some real questions have been raised with respect to potential fraud, corruption, and conflict of interest. Of course, as you know, one of the subcontractors of that contractor was affiliated with Secretary Noem during her time as Governor and ultimately with her former spokesperson.
TAPPER: Was married to her spokesperson, right?
NEGUSE: That's correct.
TAPPER: Did she ever offer any clarification after the hearing or anything like that?
NEGUSE: No. No. And if anything, we've now seen reports that indicate that perhaps she was directly involved in approving those contracts, notwithstanding the testimony that she offered yesterday, both in the House yesterday and in the Senate the day before. I would also just say, Jake, because I watched the exchange that you played with Senator Kennedy and Secretary Noem, unfortunately, one of the hard realities of the political moment that we find ourselves in is that oversight and these hearings are often seen through a partisan lens. One hopes that there are moments that prove to be the exception to the rule. And I think this happened to be one.
TAPPER: Kudos to Senators Kennedy and Tillis as well, who did their oversight job. And I hope when the Democrats are back in the White House, Democratic members of Congress do the same thing for that. You called this fraud. Do you think her firing and being given another job in the administration is appropriate?
NEGUSE: Well, I certainly think her being terminated is appropriate, and it's an important step in our fight for accountability. But it is a first step. Accountability ultimately means that if there were any laws violated — procurement laws, conflict of interest laws — then ultimately evidence is uncovered and that prosecutions commence if appropriate. And so, this is the beginning, not the end, with respect to accountability. With respect to the new position that the President apparently conjured up, it sounds like something he saw in a movie. But anyway, we're not quite sure what this new position is.
TAPPER: We're running out of time but last question for you. One of the things Senator Tillis said to me, and I forget if this was on air or off air, but the idea that Secretary Noem prided herself on approving all these small dollar expenditures for FEMA, I think anything either over $100,000 or $10,000, but, knew nothing about the basic questions you asked her about this multi-hundred million dollar account was really shocking.
NEGUSE: It's absurd. It's nonsensical. I mean, of course, she broke FEMA single-handedly, in part by virtue of the decision that you just identified, but then wants the American people to believe that she's not involved in this $140 million contract of taxpayer money so that she can appear in ads at Mount Rushmore and the like. Clearly, it embarrassed the President and the Trump administration. And for the Trump administration to be embarrassed, given the corruption that they are engaged in, it perhaps tells you the whole story.
TAPPER: Congressman Joe Neguse, Democrat of Colorado, thanks for being here. Really appreciate it.
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