U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem gestures during a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., August 26, 2025. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

Corey Lewandowski — former Trump campaign manager turned senior adviser at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) — is reportedly playing gatekeeper for contracts over $100,000, creating a vortex of delays.

Politico reported Wednesday, citing insiders from the administration and FEMA, that rather than ushering contracts straight to DHS Secretary Kristi Noem’s desk, they are funneled through Lewandowski. He is said to hold veto power over these substantial agreements.

One FEMA official described this bottleneck as "insane" in their comment to Politico, pointing to a new DHS protocol that requires manual reviews of even routine contracts — slowing operations to a crawl.

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“Corey is part of the problem,” said one administration official. “It doesn’t matter how quickly we get it there; it doesn’t just go straight to her desk.”

According to the report, the extra layer of scrutiny stems from Noem’s initiative aiming to stem wasteful spending.

Critics argue, however, that it's instead bogging down the agency — risking delayed deployment of billions in immigration enforcement funds and frustrating office workflows. Even relatively modest contracts can take weeks to get approved, per the report.

One insider told the outlet: "We’ll see if that frustrates members of Congress who voted for the Big Beautiful Bill.”

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Though officially a “special governmental employee” limited to 130 unpaid days per year, Lewandowski’s involvement appears far more substantial. Sources note frequent appearances with Noem at events and on travel, describing him as her de facto chief of staff. Some officials question whether his days at DHS are being properly documented.