Two companies linked to experienced political strategists earned at least $23 million in commissions for their involvement in a contentious Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ad campaign, which contributed to Secretary Kristi Noem’s removal from her position.
Safe America Media, one of these firms, secured at least $15.2 million. It was established last February just days before receiving a limited-bid contract for the $220 million, taxpayer-funded ad campaign. According to an internal DHS memo and anonymous sources familiar with the contracts, the firm was led by Republican strategists Mike McElwain and Patrick McCarthy, who were involved in media buying for Donald Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign.
The second company, People Who Think, received a minimum of $7.7 million from its 10 percent commission on part of the $220 million. This information is noted in a memo by DHS Deputy Under Secretary for Management Paul Stackhouse, reviewed by POLITICO. People Who Think was co-founded by Jay Connaughton, who has worked for Trump’s 2016 campaign and other conservative political initiatives.
The DHS memo dated March 3 mentioned that contract awards were made with “limited competition” due to an “urgent and compelling need” for the ad campaign. It also highlighted that People Who Think’s 10 percent commission for international ads and Safe America Media’s 12 percent for domestic ads were below the industry average of 15 percent.
Aside from military recruitment and Covid-19-related campaigns, the DHS ads were the most costly U.S. government marketing endeavor in the past decade, Bloomberg reported.
Details about the contracts shed new light on the repercussions of DHS’s $220 million ad campaign, which featured a video of Noem in a cowboy hat riding a horse at Mount Rushmore. The campaign underscores the awarding of lucrative contracts to political operatives with minimal oversight, including from President Donald Trump, whom White House officials have claimed did not approve the campaign.
The advertisements caused tension within the White House, including for Trump, as they fueled perceptions that Noem was leveraging her position for future political ambitions.
“Safe America Media submitted a proposal and was awarded a contract to assist DHS’s nationwide public awareness campaign, dedicating substantial resources to achieve the timeline and budget,” Safe America Media attorney Joseph Folio stated to POLITICO. “We intend to offer more information to correct inaccuracies in public reports and ensure the record accurately portrays the work’s scope and context.” The specifics of these inaccuracies remain unclear, and a spokesperson did not answer follow-up queries.
McCarthy, McElwain, and Connaughton did not respond to requests for comment, and People Who Think could not be reached. DHS also declined to comment.
Republican Senators Thom Tillis of North Carolina and John Kennedy of Louisiana, along with their Democratic counterparts, questioned Noem during her testimony before Congress in early March about the DHS ad campaign. During the hearing, Tillis expressed his frustration and threatened to halt all Senate activities if Noem did not provide details on immigration enforcement in his state, while Kennedy criticized the ads, saying they were only “effective in your name recognition.”
Noem defended the campaign by stating that the ads motivated two million immigrants to self-deport, saving billions in costs.
During the hearing, Noem was also questioned about the Strategy Group, which helped create some ads for Safe America Media. The Strategy Group is led by Ben Yoho, married to Noem’s former communications aide Tricia McLaughlin. McLaughlin claimed she recused herself from the project, and DHS general counsel James Percival supported her publicly regarding these issues, stating she was not involved in selecting subcontractors.
In response to inquiries from Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Peter Welch (D-Vt.), both on the Senate Homeland Security Committee, Yoho mentioned his company was hired by Safe America Media only as a subcontractor for ad production valued at $226,000.
When asked about his involvement, Yoho referred POLITICO to the letter.
Welch’s office informed POLITICO they have communicated with legal representatives for People Who Think and Safe America Media but are still awaiting responses to their questions. They expect to hear back soon.
Safe America Media LLC placed some of the DHS ads through Strategic Media Services Inc., which received over $269 million from Trump’s 2024 campaign, according to FEC records. SMS used the same office address on corporate filings from 2013 to 2021 as Designated Market Media Inc., where McElwain serves as president.
SMS did not respond to a request for comment.
