The ads have been popping up on Fox News, Good Morning America, the Today Show and Univision. They feature Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem against a backdrop bristling with American flags, galloping past Mount Rushmore on horseback, or dressed as an ICE agent.

This is the $200 million ad campaign that has saturated television and social media for months, in which Noem issues stern warnings against crossing the US border illegally.

The ad blitz is not your typical low-budget public service announcement. Axios labeled it “the most expensive political ad campaign of the year.” For context, the massive California campaign on redistricting — in one of the most expensive markets in the country — cost about $41 million.

Notably, the DHS campaign sidestepped the competitive bidding process required for most government contracts. To get around that mandate, Noem relied on what has become a favorite Trump administration tactic for fast-tracking solutions: the national emergency. President Donald Trump has deployed it for everything from energy and tariffs to drug enforcement and the border.

The agency insisted the no-bid contract was needed because “any delay in providing these critical communications to the public will increase the spread of misinformation, especially misinformation by smugglers.” Yet initial ads just showed Noem thanking Trump for securing the border and “putting America first.” She also issued an overtly political message that blamed earlier “weak politicians” for actions that “left our borders open” and “put American lives at risk.” (That’s unusual for taxpayer-funded public service campaigns.)

I spoke with Richard Painter, former chief ethics lawyer to President George W. Bush, who now teaches corporate law at the University of Minnesota. He rebuffed the notion that a national emergency could provide the rationale for such no-bid contracts.

“If every problem is a national emergency you wind up with a president and executive branch that can do whatever they want,” Painter said. “You have to exercise great care that such power is not abused. Even after 9/11 we wound up with some overreach. The border is a problem. It is not a national emergency.”

Painter, who advised Bush frequently on government contracts and potential conflicts, said that competitive bidding is required for good reasons. It establishes the parameters of the project, lays out pricing, timelines and vendor qualifications — all crucial he said, for being careful stewards of taxpayer funds.

Stepping around that process, he warned, can open the door to fraud, shady connections or contracts awarded to big donors or well-connected friends and relatives.

ProPublica, in a recent story about the no-bid contract, found it benefitted at least one Republican consulting firm, the Strategy Group, with longstanding personal and business ties to Noem and senior advisor, Corey Lewandowski, a former Trump campaign manager. The Strategy Group, which put together the Rushmore ad, does not appear on public documents, ProPublica found. Its CEO is married to Noem’s top spokesperson, Tricia McLaughlin.

ProPublica was not the first to see possible red flags. In March, two House Democrats — Bennie Thompson, ranking member on the Homeland Security Committee, and Gerry Connolly, ranking member on the Oversight Committee — attempted to obtain documents and details about what they termed a “vanity project.” (Noem had run similar marketing campaigns as South Dakota’s governor, when she launched a series of job recruitment ads that showcased her as everything from a dental assistant to a plumber.)

Thompson and Connolly noted in a letter to Noem that her own statement from a 2025 political conference showed Trump had specifically asked her for a “marketing campaign,” stating “I want you to thank me for closing the border.” Noem said in the statement, “Yes sir, I will thank you for closing the border.”

Some GOP lawmakers are also dismayed at Noem’s broader financial management of DHS, and criticized her agency this summer for moving money from other accounts to fund ICE’s expensive mass deportation program. One committee report noted that “allowing operations to significantly exceed available resources is wholly irresponsible and perpetuates fiscal mismanagement.”

Immigration enforcement in this country has long been underfunded. Now, DHS is awash in funding after netting $165 billion from Congress for border control and immigration enforcement. At a time when other federal appropriations have been slashed, DHS has become one of the few departments with money to burn. Noem’s recent announcement of a $1 billion in investments to enhance TSA security checkpoints across the country is an example of spending going where it’s needed. But there’s more to do. Instead of firing scores of immigration judges, as the Department of Justice has done, set aside funds to hire more of them. Make sure detention centers have sufficient beds, food and medical supplies. Invest in systems that will let wrongly detained legal immigrants, tourists and citizens go free quickly.

And skip the glossy ads.

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This column reflects the personal views of the author and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.

Patricia Lopez is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering politics and policy. She is a former member of the editorial board at the Minneapolis Star Tribune, where she also worked as a senior political editor and reporter.

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