Corey Lewandowski's future at the Department of Homeland Security was called into question in Washington on Thursday after President Donald Trump dismissed Kristi Noem, with The Independent reporting that Lewandowski was expected to leave the agency alongside her. The timing is awkward for Lewandowski, as the longtime Trump aide had recently come under renewed scrutiny following reporting that challenged Noem's sworn account of his role in DHS contracts.

The latest upheaval came days after Noem appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday, where Senator Richard Blumenthal asked whether Lewandowski had 'a role in approving contracts' at DHS and Noem replied, 'No.'ProPublicathen reported that internal DHS records and interviews with four current and former officials contradicted that answer, saying Lewandowski personally approved a multimillion-dollar equipment contract last summer and had signed off on numerous others. Blumenthal has since demanded answers over what he described as apparently false testimony.

At the centre of the row is a setup that looked unusual even by the relaxed conventions of Trump-era staffing. ProPublica said Lewandowski was not a salaried federal employee, yet current and former DHS staff still described him as a top official helping Noem run one of the largest departments in government. Under a spending policy imposed by Noem last year, contracts above $100,000 had to be personally reviewed and approved by the secretary, with routing sheets passing through political appointees first and Lewandowski's name typically appearing last before Noem's, according to DHS officials cited by ProPublica.

WELCH: Mr. Yoho is also the husband of your former spokesperson, Tricia McLaughlin?NOEM: YesWELCH: So your former assistant and her husband are the ones that got the DHS no bid contract for $143m. Any dispute about that?NOEM: No.pic.twitter.com/5YSQBoFfVX

That matters because it elevates the question of Lewandowski's next steps beyond a simple staffing footnote. If the reporting is accurate, he was not merely an adviser with occasional access to the department but was positioned close to the levers of power.

ProPublica also reported that a similar sign-off chain appeared in other DHS decisions, including paperwork related to rolling back protections for Haitians in the US, with Lewandowski's signature appearing beneath other senior advisers and above Noem's. Under federal law, knowingly and willfully making a false statement to Congress is a crime, although ProPublica noted such cases are rarely prosecuted in practice. Whether Noem deliberately misled Congress is not established on the public record, and DHS continues to dispute the underlying account.

BLUMENTHAL: Does Corey Lewandowski have a role in approving contracts, and if so, what is that role?NOEM: His role is a special govt employee, um, and special govt employees work for the White HouseBLUMENTHAL: So he does have a rolepic.twitter.com/JS9w1eReAC

A DHS spokesperson rejected the reporting in blunt terms, saying, 'Mr. Lewandowski does NOT play a role in approving contracts,' and adding that he received no salary or federal benefits and volunteered his time. Lewandowski did not respond to ProPublica's request for comment.

Trump said on Truth Social that Senator Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma would take over as Homeland Security Secretary at the end of the month, while Noem would move into a new post as 'Special Envoy for The Shield of the Americas' as part of a Western Hemisphere security initiative. Fox News correspondent Jacqui Heinrich said she had been told Lewandowski would leave DHS with Noem, though that remained a report rather than a formal department announcement.

an hour after Markwayne Mullin said he hadn't talked to Trump all week so couldn't give an answer, Trump says he's the new Homeland Security secretary:https://t.co/Z4DIOcfUpnpic.twitter.com/s87eUY81HA

Source: International Business Times UK