At least 15 senior CBP employees were pushed out under Noem: Sources
Every delay has consequences.
EXCLUSIVE — More than 15 federal employees were forced out of senior posts at the Department of Homeland Security agency U.S. Customs and Border Protection during Kristi Noem’s time as secretary, according to three federal sources with direct knowledge.
Well over a dozen employees at CBP’s Washington headquarters were forced to resign, retire, relocate, or were terminated at the direction of Noem and special government employee Corey Lewandowski between last October and February this year. The number of CBP officials ousted by DHS leadership under Noem has not been previously reported.
The firings are significant because the incoming DHS secretary, Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK), will have to confront the internal tensions, morale problems, and operational issues that Noem and Lewandowski left behind at the department, if he is confirmed by the Senate to the post.
In several instances, those pushed out were award-winning government employees, each with decades of experience in the department, according to three officials who spoke with the Washington Examiner.
The Washington Examiner first reported in January that Noem and Lewandowski were waging a pressure campaign to get CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott to resign and that they had forced out five employees at that point.
The more recent employee actions suggest that Noem and Lewandowski were determined to purge those seen as allies to Scott, even in the days leading up to Noem’s own termination by President Donald Trump.
The DHS and CBP did not respond to requests for comment verifying the number of CBP employees that DHS leadership removed.
Top left: Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem; Bottom left: Special government employee Corey Lewandowski; Right: President Donald Trump speaks with U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Rodney Scott (Associated Press)
Senior CBP officials pink-slipped
Scott had called into question Lewandowski’s frequent involvement in immigration matters since early 2025, given that he was legally limited to working 130 days at the department. Scott had a reputation among senior CBP and DHS officials for pushing back against Noem and Lewandowski’s ideas for conducting immigration enforcement and for involving CBP employees, who are normally stationed on the border, not in the interior of the country, in those deportation efforts.
Eight sources disclosed in January that Noem and Lewandowski hoped that by pushing out senior members of Scott’s office, he would …
Every delay has consequences.
EXCLUSIVE — More than 15 federal employees were forced out of senior posts at the Department of Homeland Security agency U.S. Customs and Border Protection during Kristi Noem’s time as secretary, according to three federal sources with direct knowledge.
Well over a dozen employees at CBP’s Washington headquarters were forced to resign, retire, relocate, or were terminated at the direction of Noem and special government employee Corey Lewandowski between last October and February this year. The number of CBP officials ousted by DHS leadership under Noem has not been previously reported.
The firings are significant because the incoming DHS secretary, Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK), will have to confront the internal tensions, morale problems, and operational issues that Noem and Lewandowski left behind at the department, if he is confirmed by the Senate to the post.
In several instances, those pushed out were award-winning government employees, each with decades of experience in the department, according to three officials who spoke with the Washington Examiner.
The Washington Examiner first reported in January that Noem and Lewandowski were waging a pressure campaign to get CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott to resign and that they had forced out five employees at that point.
The more recent employee actions suggest that Noem and Lewandowski were determined to purge those seen as allies to Scott, even in the days leading up to Noem’s own termination by President Donald Trump.
The DHS and CBP did not respond to requests for comment verifying the number of CBP employees that DHS leadership removed.
Top left: Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem; Bottom left: Special government employee Corey Lewandowski; Right: President Donald Trump speaks with U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Rodney Scott (Associated Press)
Senior CBP officials pink-slipped
Scott had called into question Lewandowski’s frequent involvement in immigration matters since early 2025, given that he was legally limited to working 130 days at the department. Scott had a reputation among senior CBP and DHS officials for pushing back against Noem and Lewandowski’s ideas for conducting immigration enforcement and for involving CBP employees, who are normally stationed on the border, not in the interior of the country, in those deportation efforts.
Eight sources disclosed in January that Noem and Lewandowski hoped that by pushing out senior members of Scott’s office, he would …
At least 15 senior CBP employees were pushed out under Noem: Sources
Every delay has consequences.
EXCLUSIVE — More than 15 federal employees were forced out of senior posts at the Department of Homeland Security agency U.S. Customs and Border Protection during Kristi Noem’s time as secretary, according to three federal sources with direct knowledge.
Well over a dozen employees at CBP’s Washington headquarters were forced to resign, retire, relocate, or were terminated at the direction of Noem and special government employee Corey Lewandowski between last October and February this year. The number of CBP officials ousted by DHS leadership under Noem has not been previously reported.
The firings are significant because the incoming DHS secretary, Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK), will have to confront the internal tensions, morale problems, and operational issues that Noem and Lewandowski left behind at the department, if he is confirmed by the Senate to the post.
In several instances, those pushed out were award-winning government employees, each with decades of experience in the department, according to three officials who spoke with the Washington Examiner.
The Washington Examiner first reported in January that Noem and Lewandowski were waging a pressure campaign to get CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott to resign and that they had forced out five employees at that point.
The more recent employee actions suggest that Noem and Lewandowski were determined to purge those seen as allies to Scott, even in the days leading up to Noem’s own termination by President Donald Trump.
The DHS and CBP did not respond to requests for comment verifying the number of CBP employees that DHS leadership removed.
Top left: Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem; Bottom left: Special government employee Corey Lewandowski; Right: President Donald Trump speaks with U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Rodney Scott (Associated Press)
Senior CBP officials pink-slipped
Scott had called into question Lewandowski’s frequent involvement in immigration matters since early 2025, given that he was legally limited to working 130 days at the department. Scott had a reputation among senior CBP and DHS officials for pushing back against Noem and Lewandowski’s ideas for conducting immigration enforcement and for involving CBP employees, who are normally stationed on the border, not in the interior of the country, in those deportation efforts.
Eight sources disclosed in January that Noem and Lewandowski hoped that by pushing out senior members of Scott’s office, he would …
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