Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem is once again facing scrutiny—this time over claims she pushed through millions in federal disaster aid for a Florida pier project after a wealthy donor complained directly to her.
According to a new ProPublica investigation, Naples city officials had been struggling for months to secure Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) funds to rebuild the city’s historic pier, destroyed by Hurricane Ian in 2022. Their requests had been repeatedly bogged down by red tape, made worse by Noem’s policy that required her personal approval for FEMA expenditures over $100,000.
But when Naples Mayor Teresa Heitmann reached out to a local cardiologist and major Noem donor, Dr. Sinan Gursoy, things suddenly changed.
A Text That Changed Everything
Heitmann texted Gursoy in early August, frustrated by FEMA’s delays. Gursoy, who had donated at least $25,000 to Noem’s 2022 South Dakota campaign, promptly texted Noem.
Within 24 hours, he assured the mayor that she’d be hearing from Noem’s “FEMA fixer.” By late August, Naples officials noticed a sudden “flurry of activity” from FEMA. Two days later, Noem herself was in Naples, touring the damaged pier with Heitmann and then dining with Gursoy at a French restaurant.
By the end of the month, FEMA confirmed it would expedite more than $11 million in disaster funds for the pier—a dramatic turnaround after years of delay.
The Corey Lewandowski Connection
The pier’s location has only fueled suspicion. It sits just a couple of miles from a home owned by Corey Lewandowski, Donald Trump’s former campaign manager and Noem’s de facto chief of staff.
Noem and Lewandowski have long been rumored to be romantically involved—a relationship one Trump administration official once called “the worst-kept secret in Washington.” Both have denied the rumors.
Still, the optics of rushing aid to a project so close to Lewandowski’s home, triggered by a donor’s phone call, have raised alarms.
FEMA Under Fire
The Naples pier controversy is the latest in a string of FEMA failures under Noem’s leadership. Earlier this summer, deadly floods in Texas went without a full emergency response for days because Noem delayed signing off on funding for rescue teams. Thousands of disaster relief calls reportedly went unanswered after her office failed to renew call center contracts.
Republican Sen. Ted Budd of North Carolina has also complained that his state’s recovery from Hurricane Helene was stalled because Noem wouldn’t approve funding in a timely manner.
Experts told ProPublica the Naples case highlights how Noem’s unusual concentration of power over FEMA funds risks injecting political favoritism into disaster recovery.
Political Favoritism—or Public Service?
Critics see the episode as a clear example of donor influence. Naples, a wealthy enclave home to CEOs and billionaires, is a regular fundraising stop for Republicans. Noem visited the area at least 10 times while governor of South Dakota, often for high-dollar donor events.
For Heitmann, the mayor, reaching Noem through Gursoy wasn’t just effective—it was the only way. “We were told Secretary Noem had to personally approve the project,” one city official admitted in an email to Sen. Rick Scott’s office.
DHS Pushes Back
Noem’s office has called the allegations overblown. “First of all, fixing the pier is $2 million and ProPublica claimed it was $11 million, which shows you the caliber of this ‘journalism,’” DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin told The Daily Beast.
She added that the pier project “has been 2.5 years in the works” and criticized those who saw Noem’s Naples visit as inappropriate. “This is about helping more than a million visitors who used to rely on the pier.”
Lewandowski also denied involvement, telling ProPublica he had nothing to do with the decision and wasn’t in Naples during Noem’s trip.
Gursoy, however, offered only two words when reached by phone: “Get lost.”
Larger Implications
The Naples episode underscores broader concerns about the Trump administration’s disaster response strategy. By centralizing FEMA decision-making in Noem’s office, critics argue, life-or-death recovery efforts are vulnerable to political whims, donor influence, and personal relationships.
For Noem—already nicknamed “ICE Barbie” for her hardline immigration policies and polished public persona—the pier scandal adds to a growing list of controversies that cast doubt on her leadership style.
As one former FEMA official told ProPublica: “When disaster relief depends on who has Kristi Noem’s phone number, that’s not governance. That’s patronage.”