Washington is abuzz as whispers grow louder about the fate of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, the so-called ‘ICE Barbie.’ While Team Trump tries to smother the rumors, juicy speculation about Noem’s alleged entanglement with her chief consigliere, Corey Lewandowski, won’t die down. The president’s advisors are already eyeing a replacement—and the contenders are causing a stir.

Inside sources dished to Politico that Trump’s inner circle is tossing around names like Fox News talking head Jason Chaffetz and Virginia’s outgoing governor Glenn Youngkin, who’s packing up the mansion come January. All White House press ops have so far laughed off the notion that Noem’s job is on the chopping block, but behind closed doors, strategists say it’s only a matter of time—a slick exit for Noem is already being mapped out, letting her keep bragging rights for steering Trump’s immigration crackdown.

Noem, snapped last March aboard the US Coast Guard Cutter Elm looking battle-ready, has not silenced the chatter despite her public denials. Lewandowski, infamous for his role on Trump’s 2016 campaign, repeatedly bats away allegations, but Beltway insiders have dubbed their supposed affair the city’s worst-kept secret. Meanwhile, sources say Noem might be laying the groundwork for a 2028 political play, triggering envy—and suspicion—among Trump loyalists. ‘She’s not pushing for a cushy TV gig; she’s thinking VP or Secretary of State,’ quipped one official in the know.

But the drama doesn’t stop at romance. Noem and Lewandowski have been roasted over handling DHS money, with warnings from up top after fiascoes like buying ten Spirit Airlines jets without checking for engines—a blunder fit for a sitcom, according to Wall Street Journal sources. That’s not all: White House number crunchers now fear other DHS contracts could fall under scrutiny as the story snowballs.

As names like Chaffetz and Youngkin float in the rumor mill, one staffer summarized the mood: ‘There’s some shady stuff going down—everybody knows it.’