5 days ago
Kristi Noem's DHS spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin set to marry former governor's campaign strategist next month
For U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, the hottest ticket of the summer isn't a security summit, it's the wedding of her trusted aide.
Her chief spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin, 31, will tie the knot next month with fellow Ohioan and former Noem campaign staffer Benjamin Yoho, 38, at a ceremony in Cincinnati, followed by a honeymoon in France, can reveal.
Noem and her senior adviser Corey Lewandowski are sure to be on the guest list, as well as former Republican candidate Vivek Ramaswamy – each having uniquely close ties to the bride and groom.
McLaughlin and Yoho began working together in 2023 in senior roles for Ramaswamy's failed 2024 presidential campaign where their political chemistry soon turned romantic.
Prior to that, Yoho, the CEO of a political advertising firm, worked for Noem's re-election campaign in South Dakota in 2022.
McLaughlin previously held roles in the first Trump administration, and then worked as Ohio Governor Mike DeWine's communications director before joining DHS.
Now, their union is the latest intertwining of power and politics within the MAGA world's next generation.
Lewandowski, whose long-standing, close connection to Noem has fueled persistent rumors of a romantic affair, is also deeply embedded in the couple's story.
He served as a senior adviser to Noem when she was governor of South Dakota and followed her to DHS as her 'de-facto chief of staff' amid widespread speculation that the pair - who are both married - were romantically involved.
He also reportedly flirted with joining a pro-Vivek super PAC in 2023.
McLaughlin and Yoho's engagement was announced on January 8 on Mornings with Maria, a Fox Business show where McLaughlin served as a panelist.
'Wedding bells ahead of the opening bell!' Maria Bartiromo cheered, sharing that the couple just got engaged in Trump's hometown of Palm Beach, Florida.
McLaughlin, beaming from the panel, later shared the TV clip along with a ring emoji on her X account, just two weeks before Trump took office.
Both McLaughlin and Yoho's firm took to social media to congratulate Trump on Inauguration Day and Noem five days later when she was confirmed as DHS Secretary.
'We are thrilled and send our biggest congratulations to our friend @KristiNoem!' Yoho's firm posted on X January 25.
'South Dakota was blessed by her leadership and now the country will be as well. Go get 'em!'
One of Noem's first orders of business was to name McLaughlin DHS' Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs.
In the months since, Yoho, CEO of The Strategy Group Co., has become her greatest champion.
'My lady,' he wrote with a fire emoji on X, proudly retweeting an ABC News Live clip of her on April 16.
can now reveal that the wedding will take place at a venue in Cincinnati on August 23.
The couple has posted their registry online, listing gifts they want from Bloomingdale's, Restoration Hardware, Williams Sonoma, and West Elm, ranging from luxury Italian percale bedding to American flag appetizer plates and towels.
Though both Ohio natives, McLaughlin and Yoho took different routes into GOP politics, before they joined forces in February 2023 when Vivek joined the presidential race.
Yoho became the campaign's chief executive officer. McLaughlin joined as senior advisor and director of communications.
McLaughlin, a former intern for The Daily Rundown with Chuck Todd, had worked during the first Trump administration in public affairs for the Treasury Department and as Chief of Staff to the U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Nuclear Arms.
She later served as Ohio Governor Mike DeWine's Political Communications Director, according to her DHS profile.
Yoho, in his Linkedin profile, declared he had always wanted to be a coal miner like his dad. Instead, he went into political advertising.
After serving as executive director of the Ohio House Republican Organizational Committee, he became president of The Strategy Group in 2013.
The Dakota Free Press credited Yoho's firm with creating Noem's 'horsey ads,' one featuring a silhouette of her in a cowboy hat perched high on a horse, juxtaposed over the all-caps slogan BELIEVE.
'We believe in a future where the light of freedom burns bright and its torch is held high,' reads the add, still posted on the firm's website.
Yoho attended her second inauguration in 2023, while posting his congratulations to 'my friend' Noem on Twitter.
The connection appeared to pay off as just weeks later, Noem awarded him a $5million contract to make videos for her job recruitment campaign, under the flag of his business 'Go West Media,' according to state media reports at the time.
But the partnership raised eyebrows among watchdogs and media alike.
'An Ohio firm works for Noem's political campaign, then beats out South Dakota ad firms for a lucrative state contract,' a columnist at the Dakota Free Press sniped in an October 2023 article. 'Imagine that.'
The same outlet highlighted Yoho's ties to Lewandowski, whose reputation remains complicated.
Once a senior advisor to Trump, Lewandowski was sidelined in 2021 after being accused of sexually harassing a donor at a charity dinner in Las Vegas.
Noem was reportedly sitting at a table at the fundraiser with Lewandowski.
He later resurfaced at Noem's side, attending her 2023 inauguration and currently working closely with her at DHS, after having returned to Trump's 2024 campaign as a senior adviser.
He also signaled his support for Ramaswamy, a Republican from Ohio, where Lewandowski had previously worked with Republican congressmen Bob Ney and Jim Ranacci, a failed 2022 challenger to Governor Mike Dewine with ties to Trump.
'All roads with them (Lewandowski, Yoho and McLaughlin) seem to lead back to Ohio politics,' one insider told
Politico reported that Lewandowski reached out to a pro-Vivek super PAC about 'coming on board – and ran the idea by (then candidate Trump) before doing so.'
first disclosed details of Noem and Lewandowski's years-long, clandestine affair in September 2023, but the two remain married to their respective spouses
Ramaswamy spent much of his campaign praising the frontrunner while training his attacks on other challengers.
He then immediately endorsed Trump upon exiting the race, leading pundits to suspect the two had a secret alliance.
He is now running for governor but perhaps preparing to take a weekend off from campaigning as he joins others in their orbit attending the wedding of two of his top campaign officials.
McLaughlin, whose work alongside Yoho evolved into a romance, will face some added scrutiny as a government official after they say their I-dos, given Yoho's work with politicians including Noem.
