Lewandowski's veto power over DHS contracts frustrates admin officials: 'Corey is part of the problem'
Source: Politico
08/27/2025 05:55 AM EDT
Corey Lewandowski, the former Trump campaign manager-turned-Department of Homeland Security senior adviser, is involved in greenlighting six-figure contracts at the agency, according to an administration official and two FEMA officials. His involvement has contributed to a bottleneck at the agency that has rankled members of the administration, frustrated at both the delays and Lewandowski’s role as a so-called special governmental employee, the three officials said.
Lewandowski has veto power over DHS contracts and grants that exceed $100,000, according to one of the FEMA officials and the administration official, who, like the others in this article, were granted anonymity because they are not authorized to speak about the process. And he is the last stop before contracts move to DHS Secretary Kristi Noem’s desk, said the second FEMA official, who has personally seen his signature on an approval. He does not sign contracts in place of Noem.
The second FEMA official described Lewandowski’s authority at the agency most responsible for carrying out Trump’s mass deportation plan as “insane,” saying his role has impeded FEMA operations through the new DHS protocol of manually reviewing routine contracts.
“Corey is part of the problem,” said the administration official. “It doesn’t matter how quickly we get it there, it doesn’t just go straight to her desk.”
Read more: https://www.politico.com/news/2025/08/27/tk-00527043
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