Photo: Joseph Prezioso/AFP/Getty Images
When Kristi Noem isn’t donning various costumes to highlight how the Trump administration is deporting people indiscriminately, the Homeland Security secretary is keeping busy by ordering rampant lie-detector tests of her own staffers to root out leakers.
Polygraphs have long been used in various intelligence agencies, including DHS, for things like criminal investigations or security clearances. But their use at this scale and in this manner is unprecedented. The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday that under Noem’s direction, the tests are being “used to search for leaks of information that Noem and her top deputies consider disloyal or embarrassing,” though often the information the employee is accused of sharing with the media isn’t classified.
Various employees at immigration agencies, from people in leadership to employees in media offices, have been asked to take polygraph exams. According to the Journal, the randomness may be intentional:
Many employees say it isn’t often clear who is being selected for polygraphs or why. Some view the exams as a fishing expedition, and many have said the seeming randomness has created a chilling effect inside the department.
Some employees have been placed on administrative leave following their polygraphs, while others have resigned rather than take the exams, according to people familiar with the dynamics inside DHS.
The paper reported that Noem and other top officials have personally ordered or threatened such tests:
Madison Sheahan, the No. 2 official at Immigration and Customs Enforcement, is close to Noem and routinely threatens to subject employees to polygraphs in meetings, officials familiar with the matter said. And at times, Noem or Corey Lewandowski, her top adviser, have personally requested polygraphing of certain employees or threatened polygraphs against them.
The Journal’s reporting added new details to a story that was first reported in February. Noem has bragged about identifying leakers on social media, and DHS spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin told the paper, “Under Secretary Noem’s leadership, DHS is unapologetic about its efforts to root out leakers that undermine national security.”
We have identified criminal leakers within @DHSGov and are preparing to refer these perpetrators to the @DOJ for felony prosecutions.
These individuals face up to 10 years in federal prison.
We will find and root out all leakers. They will face prison time & we will get justice… pic.twitter.com/KEtpJDtUNs
— Kristi Noem (@KristiNoem) March 7, 2025
But this over-the-top effort to keep staffers from spreading embarrassing information is ironic, as the primary source of negative information about Kristi Noem is … Kristi Noem.
The worst thing many people know about Noem is that she killed her dog by shooting the puppy in a gravel pit. The source for that story was Noem’s memoir, No Going Back.
As Homeland Security secretary, Noem has faced criticism for wearing a $60,000 Rolex and full-glam makeup to an infamous El Salvador megaprison, where she posed in front of men deported from the U.S. without due process. She revealed that she does not know what habeas corpus is while testifying at a Senate hearing. And Noem broadcast the details of an ICE raid in New York while it was still happening, as the Journal reported:
“Live this AM from NYC. I’m on it,” [Noem] posted on Jan. 28 at 4:43 a.m. on X, with a photo of herself sporting an ICE baseball cap and getting into a car. The problem: The raid was still ongoing when Noem posted about it, undercutting the element of surprise, according to people familiar with the operation.
Lie detectors aren’t that reliable — particularly when you’re using them in place of a mirror.
