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Noem's Mount Rushmore Ad Costs Taxpayers $286K, Senators Reveal
The ad was part of a $200 million DHS campaign and included a $20,000 payment for a horse and $4,000 for hair and makeup, raising concerns about wasteful spending.
- In October 2025, a taxpayer-funded 60-second ad filmed at Mount Rushmore shows Kristi Noem on horseback, costing $286,137 in taxpayer dollars.
- Part of a larger DHS effort, the ad was produced under no-bid contracts, including a $143 million award to Safe America Media created eight days earlier.
- Invoices list $107,405 in labor, a $60,000 'signing bonus', and other production costs including a $20,000 horse rental to barrel racer Jill Moody and $3,800 for hair and makeup.
- Senator Peter Welch declared 'This looks like waste, fraud, and abuse to me' after requesting records from contractors; Noem claimed Trump approved the spending, which he denied.
- TSG defended its billing as documented and said it disclosed costs to Congress while answering senators only partially, and Ben Yoho, CEO of The Strategy Group, is married to former DHS spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin, who recused herself.
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Thousands of Taxpayer Dollars Were Spent on a Horse, Grooming, and More for Noem's Mount Rushmore Ad
Tens of thousands of taxpayer dollars were spent on hair and makeup and a horse for the ad featuring outgoing Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in front of Mount Rushmore, according to invoices seen by CNN. The invoices to Strategy Group, a DHS subcontractor that produced the ad, show taxpayers footed a $20,000 bill for a South Dakota-based barrel racehorse, along with nearly $4,000 for hair and makeup services. The invoices …
·Washington, United States
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Noem spent $20,000 on horse rentals, $3,800 on hair and makeup for Mount Rushmore ads: Dems
Taxpayers shelled out more than $200,000 in production costs for an ad featuring fired Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem riding around Mount Rushmore on horseback, Democratic lawmakers revealed Monday.
·New York, United States
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Coverage Details
Total News Sources24
Leaning Left10Leaning Right2Center10Last UpdatedBias Distribution46% Left, 45% Center
Bias Distribution
- 46% of the sources lean Left, 45% of the sources are Center
46% Left
L 46%
C 45%
Factuality
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