Noem Took $80K From the Nonprofit She Promoted
DHS Secretary travels to Costa Rica, June 25, 2025. Photo courtesy of DHSGov. Public domain.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has built her brand on toughness, patriotism — and now, according to reports, a suspicious side hustle that ethics watchdogs say reeks of self-dealing.
While raising big money for a dark money nonprofit that exists largely to promote her political image, Noem allegedly routed a significant cut directly to her personal company. That arrangement was never disclosed in public filings after she joined Donald Trump's Cabinet, and critics say it raises red flags about transparency, ethics, and personal enrichment at the highest levels of government.
A Quiet Payday From Political Cash
In 2023, then-Governor Noem was already a rising star in the Trump universe, drawing national attention for her no-apologies persona and loyalty to the MAGA brand.
But behind the scenes, tax filings reveal a different story. Noem received a commission for fundraising — a 10% slice of the $800,000 she helped bring in for the American Resolve Policy Fund, a Delaware-based nonprofit that is not required to reveal its donors, totaling $80,000.
That money flowed to her personal LLC, Ashwood Strategies, which was quietly created just minutes before the nonprofit itself was incorporated. According to experts, the arrangement is not just unusual — it's virtually unheard of.
"There's no way the governor is supposed to have a private side business that the public doesn't know about," said Lee Schoenbeck, a longtime Republican attorney and former South Dakota lawmaker, to ProPublica.
Omitted From Federal Disclosures
Noem failed to report the $80,000 on her 2023 federal financial disclosure form — a form required of all Cabinet-level officials. While her lawyer claims she fully complied with the law and disclosed all income on "readily available" public documents, he declined to clarify why the $80,000 wasn't included, according to ProPublica.
The Office of Government Ethics reportedly reviewed her financial disclosures, but it remains unclear whether officials were aware of the $80,000 fundraising payment. Daniel Weiner, director of the Brennan Center's campaign finance work and a former Federal Election Commission attorney, told ProPublica, "If donors to these nonprofits are not just holding the keys to an elected official's political future but also literally providing them with their income, that's new and disturbing."
Nonprofit or Personal Promotion Machine?
The nonprofit American Resolve Policy Fund raised over $1.1 million in 2023 but spent just $220,000, with $80,000 going to Noem and most of the rest covering vague travel and administrative expenses.
Its social media presence is small and almost entirely focused on promoting Noem. One of its few visible actions in 2023 was purchasing Facebook ads attacking local media outlets that investigated Noem's use of state funds, which critics viewed as self-serving and retaliatory.
Lavish Spending Habits Raise Eyebrows
This isn't the first time Noem has drawn scrutiny for financial issues. During her tenure as South Dakota's governor, the state picked up more than $640,000 in travel costs, including a bear hunt in Canada, a Paris speech, and even a trip to Houston for dental work.
Critics say the taxpayer-funded jet-setting seemed more focused on raising her national profile than serving her home state. A former GOP governor said the spending "offends a lot of people," while others said the public deserved more transparency, according to the Associated Press.
Noem was also spotted wearing a nearly $50,000 Rolex watch while touring a Salvadoran prison and carrying $3,000 in cash when her Gucci purse was stolen in Washington, D.C.
Ethics or Optics?
To date, there is no evidence that Noem violated campaign finance laws. Lawmakers helping nonprofits fundraise isn't unusual. However, keeping a slice of that money for personal use is virtually unheard of.
Her lawyer maintains that she followed both the "letter and spirit" of the law, according to ProPublica. But for ethics experts, the bigger issue may be the precedent it sets: a sitting governor creating a nonprofit to promote herself, raising money for it, taking a cut of that money, and not telling the public about it until she was up for a federal cabinet position.
Whether legal or not, the optics are undeniably problematic. As Noem now oversees the Department of Homeland Security — an agency with a $100 billion budget and vast law enforcement authority — questions about her transparency and financial entanglements aren't going away.
References: Kristi Noem failed to disclose $80,000 received while South Dakota governor – report | Kristi Noem Secretly Took a Cut of Political Donations | ICE Barbie Accused of Secretly Taking a Cut of Political Donations | Kristi Noem refused to say who financed some of her travel. It was taxpayers who were on the hook
