The Department of Homeland Security reportedly bought five planes at inflated prices from a political donor to then-DHS Secretary Kristi Noem just hours before she left office, according to reporting by The New York Times.
The agency purchased the planes from Daedalus Aviation Corporation and paid $108 million for a Boeing 737 converted to a private jet, $106 million for a pair of Gulfstream jets, and $45 million each for two Boeing 737 passenger jets.
The Timing
The planes were purchased the morning before Noem left office. She had been fired on March 5 following several controversies but remained in the role until Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin took over on March 24.
William Walters, the head of Daedalus, donated $10,000 to the political action committee American Resolve, which supported Noem. The planes were reportedly purchased at a large markup from what Daedalus originally paid to acquire them.
The $108 million Boeing 737 private plane was reportedly bought by Daedalus for less than $90 million a few months before DHS purchased it. The Gulfstreams that Daedalus sold for $106 million were reportedly purchased for $83 million, said to be millions more than market prices.
Noem’s Response
In a post on social platform X, Noem pushed back, calling the paper “dishonest” and saying that “numerous corrections” had been made. She also called the term “donor” misleading.
“If the individual did not personally make political contributions to Secretary Noem, or if the term ‘donor’ instead refers indirectly to unrelated entities or legally distinct contributions, the article simply fails to meet the standards of precision expected of The New York Times,” the former secretary wrote.
The Broader Contract
The five planes make up half of a 10-plane purchase the Times previously reported on, which DHS said was necessary for deportation flights. However, without crews to fly them, the planes have gone largely unused.
In addition to the no-bid contract with Daedalus to purchase planes, the agency also hired Salus Worldwide, another company owned by Walters, to care for the purchased planes. That same company was also hired by DHS to fly Noem and her aides on chartered planes and to encourage immigrants to self-deport.
The Bottom Line
DHS reportedly bought five planes at inflated prices from Daedalus Aviation, whose head donated to a PAC supporting Kristi Noem, hours before she left office. The planes were purchased at markups of millions above market prices. Noem denies the characterization, calling the report dishonest and the term “donor” misleading. The planes are part of a larger purchase that has gone largely unused due to a lack of crews.
My Opinion
Noem was fired on March 5. She stayed until March 24. On that final morning, her agency signed off on a no-bid contract to buy planes from a donor at inflated prices. If that is a coincidence, it is the most expensive coincidence in DHS history.
Noem’s defense is that the term “donor” is misleading and the Times has made corrections. Perhaps. But the $108 million Boeing was bought for less than $90 million months earlier. The Gulfstreams were bought for $83 million and sold for $106 million. Those are not corrections. Those are markups. And the American taxpayer paid for them.
The planes are not even being used. They were supposed to fly deportation flights. Without crews, they sit idle. Hundreds of millions of dollars spent on aircraft that cannot fly. A contract awarded to a donor. A secretary who left office hours later. If this is not corruption, it is incompetence of the highest order. Either way, someone needs to answer for it
