Report: Dems say Noem spent thousands of taxpayer money on horse, hair and makeup in Mount Rushmore ad

Former Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem spent over a quarter of a million dollars on a controversial $220 million advertising campaign. 

On Monday, U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.) and U.S. Senator Richard Blumental (D-Conn), released a statement detailing the payments made under a subcontract issued to The Strategy Group Company as part of the ad campaign. Some of the expenses included a $60,000 signing bonus, $20,000 on horse rentals and nearly $4,000 on hair and makeup services. All taxpayer funded.

What they're saying:

Sen. Welch and Sen. Blumenthal had been heavily critical of the total bill of the campaign, even prior to the specific items invoiced. 

"Today, we are pulling back the curtain on the tens of thousands of taxpayer dollars Kristi Noem squandered on extravagant production costs for her personal ad campaign while leading the Department of Homeland Security," said Senator Blumenthal. "This absurd waste, fraud, and abuse of taxpayer funds is completely unacceptable. I will continue to demand the answers the American people deserve about how these funds were used and whether any federal officials profited from DHS contracts."

According to the press release from Sen. Welch, he and Senator Blumenthal requested documents from the companies involved in production of the advertisements featuring Secretary Noem. The taxpayer-funded ads were produced by Noem and her senior leadership. The release states that they bypassed a competitive bidding process to award no-bid contracts to firms in which she and her senior advisors had ties. 

By the numbers:

The Strategy Group gave a partial response to the request with the following invoices:

• $107,405 — Labor cost to The Strategy Group Company
• $60,000 — "Signing bonus" to The Strategy Group Company
• $52,599 — Videography, photography, and production vendors
• $20,000 — Horse rentals
• $3,781 — Hair and makeup services
• $500 — Magic Makers, Inc., a magic store based in Sioux Falls, SD
• $41,852 — Other vendors

The total cost paid to the group, $286,137. 

The backstory:

In October Noem headed an ad campaign filmed at Mount Rushmore, where she was depicted riding a horse discussing topics related to Homeland Security and immigration enforcement. 

RELATED: Kristi Noem defends department's immigration enforcement tactics during Senate hearing
 

President Donald Trump appointed the former South Dakota congresswoman and governor as his head of DHS at the start of his second term. Earlier this month, President Trump removed her from the role after heavy criticism in recent months, notably concerning the administration’s mass deportation agenda, her handling of a high-profile protest in Minnesota, including the shooting deaths of two protesters in Minneapolis, in addition to the cost of this ad campaign.
 

Oklahoma Senator Markwayne Mullin is expected to take over as secretary for DHS later this month.