Tricia McLaughlin
DHS Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs under Noem. Her office funded the $220M+ DHS ad contracts. Her husband Ben Yoho's firm, The Strategy Group, was an undisclosed subcontractor receiving money from those contracts. Claims she 'fully recused' herself — but her office still processed the payments.
The Recusal That Wasn’t
Tricia McLaughlin ran the DHS Office of Public Affairs — the same office that funded the Safe America Media ad contracts. Her husband Ben Yoho’s firm was an undisclosed subcontractor receiving money from those same contracts.
McLaughlin claimed she “fully recused” herself from the contracts. But a personal recusal while your office processes payments to your husband’s company is not a meaningful firewall. The conflict of interest is structural, not procedural.