Big Tech Oversees Itself at Homeland Security
Kristi Noem, just fired from her job as secretary of DHS amid allegations of self-dealing, staffed the department’s AI division with leadership taken directly from a tech company under contract with DHS to develop its biometric surveillance system.
The Department of Homeland Security is building a massive AI-driven biometric surveillance apparatus, headed by a former employee of major contractor Anduril. Yet again, cartoonish Trumpian corruption is proving highly lucrative for the tech industry. (John Keeble / Getty Images)
The official charged with overseeing the Department of Homeland Security’s artificial intelligence operations and massive surveillance dragnet came to the job from Anduril Industries, a powerful military AI contractor that could benefit from the reconnaissance build-out his office is overseeing, according to an ethics disclosure reviewed by the Lever.
The official joined the Department of Homeland Security while the agency was led by Kristi Noem, who was just fired amid allegations of self-dealing.
The Department of Homeland Security appointed Antoine McCord in March 2025 as the agency’s chief information officer and chief artificial intelligence officer. McCord also leads the Office of Biometric Identity Management, a Homeland Security operation that oversees hundreds of millions of biometric records like fingerprints and face scans of immigrants and citizens alike.
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