Trump DHS chief clashes with predecessor Noem as $500M DHS deal controversy heats up
WASHINGTON, DC: A bitter dispute is emerging between current and former Trump administration officials over a nearly half-billion-dollar fleet of DHS jets that have reportedly sat unresolved for months.
President Donald Trump’s current Department of Homeland Security Secretary, Markwayne Mullin, and his predecessor, Kristi Noem, have turned against each other over a $500 million fleet of “barely used” jets.
Jets bought under controversial DHS deal remains unused
The New York Times on Thursday, August 13, reported on a $464 million DHS deal with Virginia-based Daedalus Aviation Corporation to buy 10 jets. The deal has raised questions over the Trump administration’s use of no-bid contracts, while the jets have reportedly sat in Lake Charles, Louisiana, for months at a time.
While the purchase of 10 aircraft has raised questions, as DHS typically uses other agencies’ planes or leases private flights for deportations, current DHS Secretary Mullin and former DHS Secretary Noem each placed “responsibility” for the contract on the other.
To be sure, DHS claimed the aircraft are going through “maintenance checks” and said two will be used for deportation flights later in the month.
As per the outlet, three of the 10 aircraft are luxury business jets, while the other seven are Boeing 737 passenger jets, which are meant to be used for deportations by the agency.
Noem, Mullin blame each other for controversial jet deal
“The contract for Daedalus was made and approved by department leadership before Secretary Mullin was sworn in,” DHS told The Times in a statement.
On the other hand, the agency said it reserves “the right to adjust course in an environment with evolving requirements and demands.”
A spokesperson for Noem, who was freed from her responsibilities in March, revealed that the deal was finalized after Mullin took charge of DHS as secretary.
Notably, the cost of the deal skyrocketed by $300 million once Mullin took over.
The administration has contended that the “urgency” of its deportation efforts requires DHS to bypass traditional contract procedures.
Democrats demand investigation into contract
As the $464 million deal faces mounting scrutiny, Democrats, Sens Patty Murray (D-WA) and Chris Murphy (D-CT), have demanded an investigation into the into the contract, which was awarded to a company led by a chairman named William Walters.
William Walters previously donated $10,000 to a political committee supporting Noem.
The company claimed that Walters was unaware of the connection between the committee and Noem.
“The American people deserve a full accounting of this gross misuse of their tax dollars,” Murray and Murphy wrote in a letter Thursday to DHS.
The senators claimed the unused aircraft are simply acting as “in-house private jet service” for Trump administration officials.
“This includes providing jet services not only for DHS officials like yourself, but also for White House Border Czar Tom Homan, other administration officials, members of the first family, and even the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Kash Patel,” they wrote.
