The last holdouts from the Kristi Noem era of the Department of Homeland Security

Some of the most senior officials who survived the purge after former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem's departure have been associated with the contracting practices that now face intense scrutiny. Why it matters: More than $9 billion in agency business was awarded during Noem's tenure through less-than-fully competitive bidding processes, according to SAM.gov, which tracks government spending and procurement.The Office of the Inspector General has open audits on every less than competitive contract doled out in fiscal year 2025.There's also an audit into the spending spree for new detention space, including the 11 currently vacant warehouses.During the same period, Noem implemented a sign-off system to personally review every contract worth more than $100,000. It delayed agency work and stalled the disbursement of FEMA recovery dollars.Zoom in: Two dozen officials have been removed or demoted since Noem's exit, mostly since Secretary Markwayne Mullin took over in March.General Counsel James Percival, who defended Noem's ad campaign contracts in a Fox News article the day before Trump replaced Noem in March, is still in his role. Deputy Secretary Troy Edgar, who defended Noem's contract sign-off system in a November op-ed, boomeranged back to DHS after exiting in December, when he was nominated as ambassador to El Salvador. Between the lines: DHS approved a $200M extension last month on a $915M contract for the agency's "self-deportation" initiative that was awarded in May 2025 after being posted on a Friday, with bids due the following Monday.Advance notice was given to a limited number of companies to submit a bid for the work, according to an unsuccessful federal lawsuit lodged by CSI Aviation, a longtime ICE deportation flights vendor.The winning vendor, Salus Worldwide Solutions, went on to make the initial purchases for Noem's luxury jets and seven other ICE deportation planes. It had not previously been a prime contractor for the federal government.Salus had already submitted an unsolicited bid for a similar project and modified it to fit the bid.The other side: A person familiar with the bid said the $200 million replenishment was a final installment of pay before the contract is re-opened for competitive bidding, which will be soon according to the litigation.The lawsuit showed that Salus had the best rated bid in DHS's internal review."As the United States Court of Federal Claims found, and what has been the case all along – the contracting process was fair, legal, without political interference, and competitive," a Salus spokesperson told Axios in a statement. The intrigue: Internal documents obtained by the Washington Post last December showed that Rob Law, a political appointee and undersecretary for management, was a point-person for Salus's contract.But a DHS spokesperson said that Law was not involved in any way with the Salus contract and its recent extension, which will continue DHS's "voluntary return options."Law also kept his role at DHS after a leadership purge that affected headquarters, public affairs teams, the ICE chief of staff and a slew of leadership staff at Customs and Border Protection, US Citizenship and Immigration Services and FEMA.The bottom line: "Deputy Secretary Edgar, General Counsel James Percival, and Under Secretary Rob Law are all valuable members of Secretary Mullin's team. They each play key roles in helping to make America safe again," a DHS spokesperson said in an emailed statement."The Secretary rescinded the $100,000 contract review memo to streamline the contract process and empower components to carry out their mission to protect the homeland and make America safe again," the spokesperson said.

Some of the most senior officials who survived the purge after former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem's departure have been associated with the contracting practices that now face intense scrutiny. Why it matters: More than $9 billion in agency business was awarded during Noem's tenure through less-than-fully competitive bidding processes, according to SAM.gov, which tracks…

Some of the most senior officials who survived the purge after former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem's departure have been associated with the contracting practices that now face intense scrutiny. Why it matters: More than $9 billion in agency business was awarded during Noem's tenure through less-than-fully competitive bidding processes, according to SAM.gov, which tracks government spending and procurement.The Office of the Inspector General has open audits on every less than competitive contract doled out in fiscal year 2025.There's also an audit into the spending…