Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem's plan to use border funds for an almost $300 million luxury jet fleet has horrified top Trump officials, Axios has learned.
Why it matters: Until last year, DHS owned zero luxury jets. Soon it could have three.
- "This is the world's worst deal to buy an aircraft," a senior administration official told Axios when granted anonymity to discuss internal matters.
- "This is an abuse," the official said, calling it a misuse of federal money.
- Russ Vought, who runs the Office of Management and Budget, raised concerns about the luxury jet spending to the White House, sources told Axios. (OMB declined to comment).
The big picture: Noem purchased two Gulfstream G700 luxury jets in October. A third plane, a Boeing 737 nicknamed the Big Beautiful Jet, is being leased with plans to buy it for about $70 million.
- The funding comes from the One Big Beautiful Bill's cash infusion to DHS.
- It includes money intended for border security and Operation Homecoming, which funds the "self deportation" campaign that DHS has promoted and is co-run with the State Department.
- Two sources indicated at least one top State Department official was concerned, but a spokesman for the department and other sources disputed that characterization.
Zoom in: The two Gulfstreams cost a total of roughly $200 million. They initially were paid for out of accounts meant to secure the maritime border, buy new C-130 Hercules planes, and upgrade the Coast Guard's older fleet, three sources familiar told Axios.
- One of the sources familiar said Noem's office briefed Congress that it planned to reimburse the Coast Guard accounts for the planes with money for "border support" in the One Big Beautiful Bill.
- That section of the bill states funding should be used for "costs incurred in undertaking activities in support of the Department of Homeland Security's mission to safeguard the borders."
- In a procurement document, DHS explained that it bought these planes to allow commanders to "address key mission requirements across domestic and international areas of responsibility, including reliable access to secure communication suites during principal movements."
Between the lines: Democratic lawmakers at the time questioned the cost and "acquisition strategy" of the ~$200 million purchase in a letter to Noem, which went unanswered.
- "It's the top of the top top tier of private jets in the market," Doug Gollan, the founder of Private Jet Card Comparison, told Business Insider in October when the Gulfstream purchases were revealed.
The latest: A third luxury plane that Noem wants to buy, the 737, holds just 18 passengers and features a bar and bedroom onboard, despite DHS claiming it will be used for deportations as well as transporting Cabinet officials, as NBC News first reported.
- The plane is currently being leased using funds meant for Operation Homecoming.
- DHS has spent significantly to promote the "self-deportation" program, but a ProPublica investigation found that just 25,000 people signed up to use it and only half were helped to return home with it last October.
- DHS will ultimately cover the cost of the plane, a second senior administration official said.
The other side: "Anyone who runs a business in the real world will tell you that owning a work vehicle is less expensive than dealing with long-term rental costs," a DHS spokesperson told Axios in a statement.
- ICE has typically used contractors to charter flights for deportations as well as commercial flights for removals.
- But DHS is now pushing to own the planes it flies. Beyond the luxury jets, it's buying six normal 737 aircrafts for removal flights.
- Some of the language in President Trump's Big Beautiful Bill is written broadly to comply with reconciliation rules, so agencies have considerable leeway on final spending decisions.
The bottom line: As governor of South Dakota, Noem spent more than $60,000 renovating the governor's residence, adding luxury rugs, chandeliers and a sauna, according to an investigation of the Sioux Falls Argus Leader.
- AP News found that more than $150,000 worth of travel expenses for political and personal travel were also covered by South Dakota taxpayers, after her travel documents were revealed in a court case.
