Former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and longtime political adviser Corey Lewandowski were seen biking and dining together at a Minnesota lakeside town, the latest public sighting of a pair whose relationship helped end her Cabinet tenure.
Noem, 54, and Lewandowski, 52, turned up along the shores of Lake Minnetonka in Wayzata, a wealthy suburb of Minneapolis known for its high-end shops and fine dining. The two rode bikes along lakeside paths before settling at an outdoor restaurant table, where Noem pulled a hat down over her eyes and Lewandowski kept his sunglasses on, an apparent effort to avoid recognition. At one point, Noem leaned in to look at something on Lewandowski's phone. The New York Post reported that multiple sources believe the two are still in a romantic relationship.
TMZ published full video of the outing. Neither Lewandowski nor Noem responded to requests for comment.
The sighting comes months after President Trump fired Noem as DHS Secretary on March 5, a move that followed a bruising congressional hearing in which lawmakers grilled her on rumors she had "sexual relations" with Lewandowski. Noem did not directly answer the question, a response widely interpreted as an admission of infidelity.
After her firing, Noem landed a new title: Special Envoy for the Shield of the Americas, described as a multinational coalition focused on combating drug cartels and enhancing security. The State Department role comes with an office at the Donald J. Trump Institute of Peace. What Noem actually does in the position remains an open question, the Post noted it is unclear what her duties as envoy involve.
Lewandowski, who had served as a special government employee at DHS during Noem's tenure, left his government position after her March 5 dismissal. He returned to Lewandowski Strategic Advisors, his government and public affairs firm.
Noem's departure from the Cabinet did not end the public trail. Shortly after the firing, the two were spotted out together in Washington, D.C. Then in May, the Post observed them at The Hay-Adams hotel, located across the street from the White House.
During that May encounter, Lewandowski wore a sports coat in the hotel lobby while Noem sat in business attire at The Lafayette hotel restaurant with a group from Ecuador. A representative for the Ecuadorian delegation told the Post the lunch was for a "private" matter and not related to Noem's work as special envoy. When the pair left together, Lewandowski looked over his shoulder to see who was around. Noem departed with a security detail.
The personal wreckage around Noem's marriage has played out in tabloid fashion. The Daily Mail published photographs of her husband, Bryon Noem, cross-dressing as a woman and reported that he had engaged in online affairs with dominatrixes. Noem's mother later told the Daily Mail that the former secretary plans to divorce Bryon. The couple has three children together.
Lewandowski is married to Alison Hardy Lewandowski. They have four children. No public statement from either Lewandowski or his wife has addressed the repeated sightings with Noem.
Noem has gone quiet on social media. She has not posted on her official X account since July, offering no public comment on the divorce reports, the Lewandowski sightings, or her work as special envoy. The silence contrasts sharply with the combative public persona she built as South Dakota governor and DHS secretary.
Washington has no shortage of rumors and whispers about high-profile political figures, and most of them amount to nothing. But the Noem-Lewandowski story keeps generating fresh evidence, sightings, photographs, video, that lines up with the original accusation she refused to deny under oath.
The Lake Minnetonka sighting adds another data point to a pattern that now stretches across months and multiple cities. Each time Noem and Lewandowski appear together in public, the unanswered question from that congressional hearing grows louder. She had a chance to deny the relationship. She chose not to. The subsequent trail of public appearances has done nothing to quiet the conclusion most observers drew that day.
Several questions remain unresolved. Whether Noem has formally filed for divorce or is relying solely on her mother's statement to the Daily Mail is unclear. Who provides her security detail now that she no longer heads DHS has not been explained. And the substance of her envoy role, what she does, whom she meets, what results she has produced, remains a blank.
For a political figure who once positioned herself as a no-nonsense conservative leader, the current chapter looks nothing like the brand. A Cabinet job lost after she refused to answer a direct question about her conduct. A marriage that collapsed in public. A new title with no visible portfolio. And a relationship she still will not confirm but no longer bothers to hide.
Accountability is not just a word conservatives use for the other side. It applies at home, too, and biking around a Minnesota lake in sunglasses does not count as an answer.