Welch and Blumenthal Request Records of Media Buying Firms Linked to Noem’s DHS Ads

Mar 20, 2026
Republican ad firmsStrategic Media Services Inc.andSmart Media Group LLCreportedly placed Mount Rushmore ad featuring Secretary Kristi Noem
Senators request subcontracts, invoices, and communications, including with Noem, Lewandowski, and McLaughlin
WASHINGTON, D.C.—U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.),Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, andU.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.),Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, wrote to Republican advertising companiesStrategic Media Services Inc.andSmart Media Group LLCrequesting information and records related to their agreements withSafe America Media,which reportedly engaged both companies to place taxpayer-funded ads featuring Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem.
“Pursuant to our responsibility to oversee DHS and federal contracting, our offices are reviewing allegations of misconduct arising from federal contract awards to assess whether and the extent to which laws and regulations governing honest services and federal procurement may require legislative reform,”wrote the lawmakers to both companies.Safe America Media,which is registered to the home address of longtime Republican political operative Mike McElwain, was awarded a $143 million no-bid contract from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to produce and place an ad campaign for the agency featuring Noem riding a horse at Mount Rushmore. The company was incorporated only seven days prior to receiving the award. These ads were filmed byThe Strategy Group Company, which is led by the husband of Noem’s then-spokesperson and Assistant DHS Secretary, Tricia McLaughlin.
Safe America Media hiredStrategic MediaandSmart Mediato place the ads. Both Noem and her chief advisor at DHS, Corey Lewandowski, have longstanding ties to Strategic Media and Smart Media Group. A subsidiary of Smart Media received more than $329 million in 2024 from Trump’s Political Action Committee (PAC) while Lewandowski was advising the campaign. Smart Media also placed ads for Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry’s 2024 gubernatorial race while Lewandowski and People Who Think LLC—the other company selected by DHS as a prime contractor for the ad campaigns—were consultants for the Landry campaign.
The Senators’ letters toStrategic Media Services Inc.andSmart Media Group LLCrequesta copy of any subcontract or other agreement with Safe America Media; invoices submitted to Safe America Media in connection with the ad campaign; communications between the companies and Safe America Media (or agents of Safe America Media) related to the production of the ad campaign; and any communications between the companies and any DHS personnel, including but not limited to Noem, Lewandowski, and McLaughlin.
Senators Welch and Blumenthalrequested answers to the following questions from Strategic Media Services Inc.:
Senators Welch and Blumenthalrequested answers to the following questions from Smart Media:
Read Senator Welch and Senator Blumenthal’s letter toStrategic Media Services Inc. here.
Read Senator Welch and Senator Blumenthal’s letter toSmart Media Group LLC here.
Earlier this month, Senators Welch and Blumenthal demanded answers from The Strategy Group Company, Safe America Media LLC, and People Who Think LLC about potential corruption and conflicts of interest stemming from their involvement in no-bid contracts awarded by DHS. The Senators’ request came days after a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing in which the Senators grilled Noem for bypassing a competitive bidding process to award contracts to firms with which she and her senior advisers have personal ties.Read morehere.
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