2026-03-29T23:43:58.847Z / 美国有线电视新闻网（CNN）
作者：盖布·科恩
16分钟前发布
发布时间：2026年3月29日，美国东部时间晚上7:43
2026年1月24日拍摄的华盛顿特区联邦应急管理局（FEMA）国家响应协调中心。
瓦莱丽·普莱施/彭博社/盖蒂图片社/资料图
据与该人士共事过的消息人士透露，前国土安全部部长克里斯蒂·诺姆及其顾问科里·莱万多夫斯基时任任期内安插在国土安全部的一名外部承包商，在过去一年中对联邦应急管理局施加了过度影响力，在主导该救灾机构的开支与日常运营方面发挥了关键作用。
三名知情人士告诉CNN，如今这名承包商卡拉·沃里斯——她以顾问身份受聘——正受到调查，这是国土安全部监察长办公室针对诺姆任内合同处理情况展开的全面调查的一部分。
联邦应急管理局内部人士告诉CNN，联邦法规通常禁止承包商在政策调整、授予合同、批准预算和监督运营等核心 agency 工作中做出约束政府的决定。内部人士表示，承包商也不应做出人事决策——例如雇用和解雇员工或监督联邦雇员。
但六名曾在联邦应急管理局与沃里斯共事的现任和前任高级官员表示，她经常参与——在某些情况下直接决定——该机构的此类事务。
“在很多情况下，她都是发号施令的人，”一名高级官员说道。“她成了影子管理者。”
据这些高级官员透露，沃里斯在国土安全部审查联邦应急管理局开支的工作中发挥了关键作用——该局拥有数十亿美元的预算——期间国土安全部延迟拨款、削减应急准备补助金并限制该机构的运营。
CNN查阅的内部邮件显示，联邦应急管理局的高级官员在发放救灾援助、向国会汇报或向白宫提交文件前，都会寻求沃里斯的批准。
官员们表示，他们常常无法判断这些决策是沃里斯本人做出的，还是她只是在传递诺姆和莱万多夫斯基的意图。
沃里斯未回复CNN通过多个公开电话号码和电子邮箱发送的置评请求。
负责监管联邦应急管理局的国土安全部未就沃里斯的角色及其在该部门的工作回应置评请求。白宫发言人将CNN的问题转交给了国土安全部。
美国总统唐纳德·特朗普本月早些时候解雇了诺姆，感谢她的服务，并任命她为一项新安全倡议的特使。
克里斯蒂·诺姆2026年3月7日在佛罗里达州迈阿密特朗普国家多拉酒店举行的“美洲之盾”峰会工作午餐会上发表讲话。
丽贝卡·布莱克韦尔/泳池/法新社/盖蒂图片社
三名消息人士称，诺姆被解职后，政府解雇了沃里斯。特朗普政府的律师上周在一桩无关案件的法庭文件中表示，“沃里斯女士不再受雇于国土安全部或联邦应急管理局，也不再担任其承包商职务。”
三名消息人士透露，沃里斯被解雇后不久，国土安全部监察长办公室的调查人员就扣押了她的政府配发设备和文件，作为对诺姆及其事实上的幕僚长莱万多夫斯基任内国土安全部合同采购做法的更广泛调查的一部分。《华尔街日报》最先报道了调查人员对沃里斯的关注。
科里·莱万多夫斯基，国土安全部特别顾问，2026年3月5日在佛罗里达州多拉美军南方司令部总部举行的首届美洲反卡特尔会议上发言。
乔·拉德尔/盖蒂图片社/资料图
在上周的法庭文件中——这是一起质疑联邦应急管理局近期裁员案件的一部分——政府律师承认了监察长的调查，称他们无法对沃里斯的工作手机进行法医成像，因为该设备已由监察办公室保管。
质疑裁员做法的律师表示，国土安全部裁员过于激进，他们正在寻求从沃里斯、诺姆和莱万多夫斯基处获取相关记录。
“卡拉·沃里斯是谁？”
特朗普解雇诺姆的关键因素之一是她在国土安全部处理合同的方式。CNN此前曾报道，莱万多夫斯基对该部门的微观管理——包括其在合同事务中的介入——一直是与白宫官员紧张关系的 recurring 源头。
多名高级官员表示，沃里斯充当了诺姆和莱万多夫斯基的看门人，帮助实施他们严格的开支控制措施——包括一项要求诺姆亲自批准任何超过10万美元支出的政策——当时特朗普政府正着手拆解并全面改革联邦应急管理局。这项规定被指导致资金申请出现严重积压。
几名高级官员表示，他们被告知是莱万多夫斯基亲自挑选了沃里斯，并将她安插到联邦应急管理局，在那里她实际上充当了他和诺姆的“耳目”。官员们质疑政府是否对她进行了全面审查。
他们还表示，特朗普任命的联邦应急管理局代理局长凯伦·埃文斯必须在决策获得批准前将其提交给沃里斯，CNN查阅的文件证实了这一说法。
曾多次批评诺姆对联邦应急管理局监管不力的北卡罗来纳州共和党参议员汤姆·蒂利斯，在3月初的参议院议事中对沃里斯表示担忧。
“我有理由相信，国土安全部已将联邦应急管理局局长的职责委托给了一名外部承包商，”她被解雇前几天，他在参议院议事中说道。“卡拉·沃里斯是谁？她在国土安全部的正式职位是什么？”
蒂利斯曾对他认为诺姆的部门拖延向遭受飓风海伦袭击的北卡罗来纳州社区发放救灾援助表示不满。
诺姆被解雇后，副总统JD·万斯在北卡罗来纳州的一场集会上向人群承认了联邦应急管理局的失误。
“我们坦率地承认，我们需要新的领导层来加快向北卡罗来纳州人民提供资源的速度，”万斯说道。“有专人专注于这类救灾和恢复工作是有益的。这正是我们将要做的事情。”
国土安全部监察长的广泛调查正在审查合同的争取和管理方式，包括诺姆和莱万多夫斯基的角色——如今也包括沃里斯。调查人员已命令数十名国土安全部官员留存相关记录，作为调查的一部分。
两名国土安全部高级官员透露，沃里斯的薪酬也在审查之列，他们被告知其薪酬可能高达每周1.9万美元，即每年约100万美元。CNN无法证实她的薪酬情况。
诺姆目前任职的国务院此前已指示CNN将有关调查的问题转交给国土安全部。在回复CNN的一条短信时，莱万多夫斯基否认了调查人员扣押沃里斯政府设备的说法，称其为“假新闻”。
“我从首席信息官那里得知，她所有的设备都交给了他，”莱万多夫斯基写道。“请回头核实你那些虚假消息来源。”
莱万多夫斯基未回复CNN质疑其说法的后续消息，也未回复对本文其余内容的置评请求。
国土安全部监察长的发言人在被问及调查时拒绝置评。
本月早些时候诺姆被解雇前不久，监察长约瑟夫·库法里在致国会的一封信中表示，在诺姆和莱万多夫斯基的领导下，国土安全部“系统性地阻挠”了该监督机构近几个月的工作，包括拒绝获取内部记录和信息。他列举了11起涉嫌阻挠的案例，其中一起与“一项涉及国家安全影响的刑事调查”有关。
“没有卡拉批准，我们什么都做不了”
尽管沃里斯作为承包商拥有不同寻常的影响力，但机构内部人士表示，联邦应急管理局高级管理层以下的人员并不了解她。
她在该机构的内部系统中被列为“专家/顾问”，并获得了标准的联邦电子邮箱，该邮箱并未体现她的承包商身份——这通常会限制访问权限并提高透明度。
“我在那里的时候，我们永远无法得到关于她身份的明确答案，”一名前高级官员说道。
据三名第一手知情人士透露，在联邦应急管理局将开支申请提交给诺姆之前，必须先经过沃里斯的审核。
“没有卡拉的批准，我们什么都做不了，”一名高级官员告诉CNN。“除非她知情，否则我们无法与国会和州长接触，也无法与白宫沟通。而且随着时间的推移，她的权力越来越大。”
CNN获取的内部邮件和消息显示，沃里斯对某些救灾援助的发放提出了质疑。在一个案例中，她告诉联邦应急管理局快速向某选区拨付资金，此前该选区的共和党议员与莱万多夫斯基举行了会面。在其他交流中，高级工作人员要求沃里斯与联邦应急管理局代理局长埃文斯共同签署文件。
“她告诉凯伦该做什么，”一名高级官员告诉CNN。
埃文斯未回复CNN的置评请求。
该官员表示，沃里斯是削减主要应急准备赠款项目、从一些大城市剥离国土安全资金的关键人物。该官员还称，当该部门突然发放超过50亿美元的积压救灾资金时，她协助协调了资金分配。
CNN此前曾报道，诺姆的开支限制措施减缓了联邦应急管理局对去年7月致命得州洪水的响应速度，当时该机构无法及时获得批准，预先部署搜救团队、增加呼叫中心人员配置并向州合作伙伴提供航空数据。
两名参与此次响应的前联邦应急管理局高级官员表示，沃里斯是造成混乱的原因之一。
“她拖慢了一切，对所有事情都说‘不’，”一名官员说道。另一名官员表示，她叫停了一些快速响应行动，警告称诺姆可能不会批准这些举措。
‘Shadow administrator’ at FEMA under investigation by DHS internal watchdog
2026-03-29T23:43:58.847Z / CNN
By Gabe Cohen
16 min ago
PUBLISHED Mar 29, 2026, 7:43 PM ET
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) National Response Coordination Center in Washington, DC, is seen on January 24, 2026.
Valerie Plesch/Bloomberg/Getty Images/File
An outside contractor installed in the Department of Homeland Security by then-Secretary Kristi Noem and her adviser Corey Lewandowski, gained outsized influence over the Federal Emergency Management Agency over the past year, with a major hand in steering the disaster agency’s spending and day-to-day operations, according to sources who worked with her.
Now that contractor, Kara Voorhies, who was hired as a consultant and adviser, is under scrutiny as part of a sprawling investigation by DHS’ Office of Inspector General into how contracts were handled under Noem, three sources with knowledge told CNN.
Federal regulations generally prohibit contractors from making decisions that bind the government on core agency work like policy changes, awarding contracts, approving budgets and overseeing operations, FEMA insiders told CNN. Contractors also are not supposed to make personnel decisions – such as hiring and firing or supervising federal employees, the insiders said.
But six current and former senior officials who worked with Voorhies at FEMA said she often weighed in on — and in some instances decided — those kinds of issues for the agency.
“In many cases, she was calling the shots,” one senior official said. “She became the shadow administrator.”
Voorhies played a key role in the department’s efforts to scrutinize spending at FEMA, which has a multibillion-dollar budget, as DHS delayed funds, slashed emergency preparedness grants and restricted agency operations, according to the senior officials.
Internal emails reviewed by CNN show senior FEMA officials sought Voorhies’ approval before disbursing disaster aid, briefing Congress or sending documents to the White House.
Officials said they often couldn’t tell whether the decisions were Voorhies’ own or whether she was only passing along what Noem and Lewandowski wanted.
Voorhies did not respond to messages sent by CNN to multiple phone numbers and email addresses listed for her.
DHS, which oversees FEMA, did not respond to questions about Voorhies’ role and her work inside the department. A White House spokesperson referred CNN to DHS.
President Donald Trump fired Noem earlier this month, thanking her for her service and naming her as a special envoy for a new security initiative.
Kristi Noem delivers remarks during a working lunch at the “Shield of the Americas” Summit at Trump National Doral in Miami, Florida, on March 7, 2026.
Rebecca Blackwell/POOL/AFP/Getty Images
After Noem’s removal, the administration terminated Voorhies, three sources said. Trump administration lawyers said in a court filing last week in an unrelated case that “Ms. Voorhies is no longer employed by or serving as a contractor with DHS or FEMA.”
Soon after her ouster, investigators from the inspector general’s office at DHS seized Voorhies’ government-issued equipment and documents as part of its broader probe into DHS contracting practices under Noem and her de facto chief of staff Lewandowski, the three sources said. The Wall Street Journal first reported investigators’ interest in Voorhies.
Corey Lewandowski, a special adviser at the Department of Homeland Security, listens during the inaugural Americas Counter Cartel Conference at the US Southern Command Headquarters in Doral, Florida, on March 5, 2026.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images/File
In the court filing last week – part of a case challenging recent FEMA staff cuts – the administration’s lawyers acknowledged the inspector general probe, saying they have been unable to forensically image Voorhies’ work phones because the device is in the custody of the watchdog office.
Attorneys challenging the staff reductions say DHS went too far in cutting the workforce, and they’re seeking records from Voorhies, along with Noem and Lewandowski.
‘Who is Kara Voorhies?’
Noem’s handling of contracts at DHS was a key factor in Trump’s decision to remove her. Lewandowski’s micromanagement of the department — including his involvement in contracts — has also been a recurring source of tension with White House officials, CNN has reported.
Voorhies served as a gatekeeper for Noem and Lewandowski, helping implement their strict spending controls — including a policy requiring Noem’s personal signoff on any expenditure over $100,000 — as the Trump administration sought to dismantle and overhaul FEMA, multiple senior officials said. That rule has been blamed for a massive backlog in funding requests.
Several of the senior officials said they were told that Lewandowski personally selected Voorhies and placed her inside FEMA, where she effectively served as his — and Noem’s — “eyes and ears.” The officials questioned whether she had been fully vetted by the administration.
They also said FEMA’s acting chief, Karen Evans – appointed under Trump – was required to route decisions through Voorhies before they could be approved, an assertion backed up by documents CNN has reviewed.
Sen. Thom Tillis, a North Carolina Republican who repeatedly criticized Noem’s oversight of FEMA, raised concerns about Voorhies on the Senate floor in early March.
“I have reason to believe that DHS has delegated responsibilities of the FEMA administrator to an outside contractor,” he said on the Senate floor days before she was terminated. “Who is Kara Voorhies? What is her official role in DHS?”
Tillis has vented frustration over what he saw as Noem’s department slow-walking disaster aid to North Carolina communities battered by Hurricane Helene.
After Noem’s firing, Vice President JD Vance acknowledged FEMA’s missteps to a crowd in North Carolina at a rally.
“We recognize, frankly, that we needed the new leadership to hasten that delivery of resources to the people of North Carolina,” Vance remarked. “It’s useful to have somebody come in and focus on some of this disaster relief and recovery stuff. And that’s exactly what we’re going to do.”
The DHS inspector general’s wide-ranging investigation is examining how contracts were pursued and managed, including the roles of Noem and Lewandowski — and now Voorhies as well. Investigators have ordered dozens of DHS officials to preserve records as part of the probe.
Also under scrutiny is Voorhies’ pay, according to two senior DHS officials, who said they were told it may have been as high as $19,000 a week, or about $1 million a year. CNN has not been able to confirm her compensation.
The State Department, where Noem now works, previously directed CNN’s questions about the investigation to DHS. In response to a text from CNN, Lewandowski dismissed the claim that investigators had confiscated Voorhies’ government equipment, calling it “fake news.”
“I have been told by the [Chief Information Officer] that all of her equipment was turned into him,” Lewandowski wrote. “Please go back and verify your fake sources.”
Lewandowski did not respond to a follow-up message challenging his claim – or a request for comment on the rest of the story.
A spokesperson for the DHS inspector general declined to comment when asked about the investigation.
In a letter to Congress shortly before Noem was ousted earlier this month, the inspector general, Joseph Cuffari, said DHS, under Noem and Lewandowski, had “systematically obstructed” the watchdog’s work in recent months, including by denying access to internal records and information. He cited 11 instances of alleged obstruction, including one tied to “a criminal investigation with national security implications.”
‘We could not do anything without Kara approving it’
Despite Voorhies’ unusual influence given her contractor status, agency insiders say she was not well-known to those below FEMA’s most senior ranks.
She was listed as an “expert/consultant” in the agency’s internal system where she was issued a standard federal email address that didn’t reflect her status as a contractor, which typically limits access and promotes transparency.
“While I was there, we could never get a straight answer about her status,” a former senior official said.
Before FEMA could get a spending request in front of Noem, it had to go through Voorhies first, according to three sources with firsthand knowledge.
“We could not do anything without Kara approving it,” a senior official told CNN. “We could not engage with Congress and governors or talk to the White House unless she was aware. And it slowly became more and more and more over time.”
Internal emails and messages obtained by CNN show Voorhies questioned the release of some disaster assistance. In one case, she told FEMA to fast-track funds to a district after its Republican congressman secured a meeting with Lewandowski. In other exchanges, senior staff asked for her sign-off alongside Evans, FEMA’s acting chief.
“She told Karen what to do,” one senior official told CNN.
Evans did not respond to CNN’s request for comment.
Voorhies was a key player in efforts to slash major emergency preparedness grant programs and strip homeland security funds from some big cities, the official said. And when the department abruptly released more than $5 billion in backlogged disaster funds, she helped coordinate the distribution, according to the official.
CNN previously reported that Noem’s spending restrictions slowed FEMA’s response to the deadly Texas floods last July, when the agency was unable to secure timely approval to preposition search-and-rescue teams, bolster call-center staffing and provide aerial data to state partners.
Two former senior FEMA officials involved in that response said Voorhies was part of the disruption.
“She slowed everything down and said ‘no’ to everything,” one said. The other said she halted some rapid-response actions, warning that Noem might not want to approve the moves.
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