DHS Adviser Fires Pilot Over Item Left on Noem Flight

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and her senior adviser Corey Lewandowski were involved in a confrontation aboard a U.S. Coast Guard aircraft in May 2024, when Lewandowski entered the cockpit during a critical phase of flight and fired a pilot after an item belonging to Noem was left behind during a plane switch.

The incident occurred on a Gulfstream jet operated by the Coast Guard's VIP transportation unit, based in Washington, D.C. According to accounts from individuals familiar with the matter, the flight was underway when mechanical issues forced a switch to another aircraft before takeoff. During the transition, Noem's personal item was inadvertently left on the first plane. Initially described as a weighted blanket, the item was later revealed by three Department of Homeland Security insiders to have been a bag with potentially embarrassing contents. "This was never about a blanket," one insider said. "The blanket was a cover story for what really happened. The whole thing was really about the bag that was left."

Lewandowski, who serves as a special government employee limited to 130 working days per year, entered the cockpit before the plane reached 10,000 feet,...