Some DHS Contractors Reported Being Asked to Pay Corey Lewandowski

Over a year prior, George Zoley, the founder of The GEO Group, arranged a meeting with Corey Lewandowski, a close associate of President Donald Trump. At the time, Lewandowski had recently assumed a high-ranking advisory role under Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. Zoley’s company, a major player in the private prison sector, stood to gain significantly from Trump’s aggressive deportation policies, which would necessitate billions in federal spending for immigration-related operations. Despite this, Zoley and his team grew concerned that Lewandowski’s influence could now determine the success of new contracts.

The tension between Zoley and Lewandowski dated back to the transition period between Trump’s November 2024 election victory and his January 2025 inauguration. During that time, Lewandowski approached Zoley with a request for financial compensation in exchange for advancing GEO Group’s contracts with the Department of Homeland Security. According to a senior DHS official and three individuals familiar with the discussion, Lewandowski made this demand before officially joining the government.

Zoley, wary of the implications, reportedly rejected the offer, calling the situation “tense” in his dealings with Lewandowski. Following this, Lewandowski became an unpaid “special government employee” at DHS, where he acted as an informal chief of staff to Noem and played a role in contract decisions. Despite Zoley’s initial refusal, the company’s contracts began to face challenges. Two major federal agreements were shortened, and several facilities sat unused even as funding for immigration operations increased.

GEO Group officials suggested that these changes were linked to their refusal to comply with Lewandowski’s demands. A senior DHS official confirmed that shortly after the second meeting, Lewandowski advised against awarding additional contracts to the company. However, Lewandowski’s spokesperson dismissed the claims, stating, “This is absolutely false and did not happen — Mr. Lewandowski never demanded any payment or compensation from the GEO Group, at any time.”

Months later, in December 2025, GEO Group secured a new $121 million contract to assist in locating immigrants for DHS. When asked about the alleged payments, Lewandowski’s representative reiterated, “zero, not one penny” had been received from any contracts he approved. Lawmakers, however, are now scrutinizing these interactions. Noem had testified in a congressional hearing earlier this month, where questions were raised about her and Lewandowski’s involvement in contract awards. Trump followed up with both, inquiring about Lewandowski’s role in DHS decisions, as reported by a source with knowledge of the call.

Following the hearings, Noem was dismissed by Trump, set to leave her position on March 31. Lewandowski, meanwhile, remains undecided on whether he will depart with her. The current focus has shifted to Senator Markwayne Mullin, Trump’s nominee to replace Noem, who faced questions during a congressional session about cooperating with an investigation into three businesses that received a $220 million advertising contract featuring Noem. The probe aims to determine if either Noem or Lewandowski benefited financially from the agreements.