The contracting mess Noem's leaving behind at DHS
Brittany Gibson
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem is on track to leave dozens of pending contracts on her desk when she leaves office in three weeks, the legacy of a system she imposed to cut "waste, fraud and abuse," but that has stalled DHS programs.
Why it matters: The backlog of contracts has left vendors waiting for payments and delayed projects such as President Trump's push for mass deportations and the border wall, along with disaster relief under FEMA, Axios has learned.
"There's a mountain of backed-up contracts and invoices on her desk that the new guy will just have to deal with," a source familiar with the situation at DHS told Axios.
The backlog existed long before the partial government shutdown over DHS immigration policies that began Feb. 14 and has further pinched the agency's spending.
The shutdown has touched most of DHS's 23 agencies, including ICE, Customs and Border Protection, FEMA, TSA and the Secret Service.
Zoom in: Noem's delay in approving DHS contracts stems from her requirement that agreements involving $100,000 or more — which is most of those at DHS — be reviewed and approved by her.
That policy — imposed just before Congress dramatically boosted DHS funding to implement Trump's immigration agenda — was disruptive enough that several vendors began charging DHS in contracts of $99,999 each in order to get paid.
The impact of Noem's policy can be seen in delayed DHS payments to vendors, causing disruptions now being compounded by the shutdown.
Dozens of ICE facilities currently holding detainees have contract extensions waiting for Noem's signature and are awaiting payments, two sources familiar with the agreements told Axios.
An agreement with Camp East Montana, an immigration facility in Texas that ICE data indicate held almost 3,000 people a day in mid-February, expired at the end of February. The facility's operator, Acquisition Logistics LLC, could not be reached for comment.
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https://www.axios.com/2026/03/11/noem-dhs-contracts-backlog
