Within the month of January 2026, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has killed two American citizens. These tragedies, on top of reports that ICE and Border Patrol officers have committed serious abuses of force over the last few months, has led many Americans to seriously question DHS’s leadership.

You already know some of the main players at DHS right now. And if don’t, here’s what you should know about presidential advisor Stephen Miller, y DHS Secretary Kristi Noem.

But do you know about who one administration official told Axios is the “brains” of DHS – Corey Lewandowski? If you don’t, here are 5 things to know.

1)He’s cheating the system as a government employee.

Lewandowski is a “special government employee” much like Elon Musk was. But rather than serve the legally required 130 days and leave, Lewandowski is claiming he is not working on days he really is. Even the White House was skeptical!

After skirting the rules for all of 2025, he’s back as the de facto Chief of Staff at DHS, still trying to manipulate the law.  

2)He’s  no stranger to corruption or legal issues.

It might just be easier to list some of the ways Lewandowski has been caught abusing his power:

Failed to register as a foreign or domestic lobbyist in 2017, despite publicly having several clients. One of those clients was Citgo, a Venezuelan oil company. This happened twice!

In 2018, he went on TV and mocked an immigrant child with Down syndrome.

In 2021 he was removed from a Trump-aligned Super PAC for sexual harrassment allegations. 

3)He revived false claims about President Obama’s citizenship.

As a CNN contributor in 2016, Lewandowski fully questioned President Obama’s citizenship, a racist conspiracy that had been debunked five years earlier.

It relaunched the nasty tone of the Trump administration attack on immigrants. And it helps explain why ICE is abusing it's power toward immigrants and U.S. citizens today.

4)He’s been with President Trump from Day 1.

Stephen Miller earned a reputation for his anti-immigrant views, but Lewandowski has been driving policy and campaigns for Donald Trump as one of the first five people who worked on Trump’s 2016 campaign.

He’s only been moved around so much because of his own corruption, but make no mistake, Lewandowski is a key Trump figure calling shots.

5)He’s a terrible candidate himself.

Lewandowski has run for office twice – the first time he lost 99.9% to 0.01%. The second time, he lost 73% to 23%.

He’s flirted with running for office a few more times but chickened out each time.

It’s telling that the only way someone who’s so unpopular could only get into government by manipulating the rules behind closed doors.

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