DHS Assistant Secretary’s Husband Benefited from a Multi-Million-Dollar DHS Advertising Contract
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Tricia McLaughlin, the chief spokesperson for Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem, is named in official documents obtained by Public Citizen as the point person for a $220 million DHS anti-immigration advertising buy that, in part, went to her husband’s company.
McLaughlin is listed – as “Traci McLaughlin Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs” – on records filed with the FCC by a Fox Television Station as the DHS official for the sponsor of the anti-immigration ad campaign. McLaughlin is also listed on the DHS website as the top official in the office that contract documents show funded the ads.
“This is a stunning example of a self-serving public official. Having a top government official in any way connected to a multi-million dollar contract that their spouse’s company benefits from is an abuse of taxpayer money and a breach of the public trust,” said Public Citizen Democracy Advocate Jon Golinger.
In November, a ProPublica story revealed that The Strategy Group, an advertising agency run by McLaughlin’s husband CEO Ben Yoho, worked on one of the Noem ads filmed at Mount Rushmore. A series of photos on the official DHS Flickr account document the Mount Rushmore ad shoot in October 2025 and show top officials at Yoho’s company together with Noem at Mount Rushmore.
As House impeachment proceedings against Noem gain steam, the alleged financial self-dealing involving McLaughlin and her husband’s firm is specifically cited in the impeachment resolution as one of three Articles in support of Noem’s impeachment.
“Noem has turned a law enforcement agency into a lawless one. This stunning revelation of self-enrichment by her top staff is more evidence she should be impeached and removed by Congress immediately,” said Public Citizen Co-President Lisa Gilbert.