DHS head reportedly authorized purchase of 10 engineless Spirit Airlines planes that airline didn’t own | Kristi Noem

US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem reportedly authorized the purchase of the Spirit Airlines jets before discovering that the airline did not actually own the planes – and that the planes lacked engines.

The bizarre anecdote was contained in a Wall Street Journal article published Friday, which recounted how Noem and Corey Lewandowski — who managed Donald Trump’s first winning presidential campaign — recently arranged the purchase of 10 Boeing 737s from Spirit Airlines. People familiar with the matter told the newspaper that the two men intended to use the jets to expand deportation flights — and for personal travel.

These sources also said that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials warned them that purchasing planes would cost significantly more than simply extending existing flight contracts.

To further complicate matters, Spirit, which filed for bankruptcy for the second time in August, did not own the jets and their engines would have had to be purchased separately. The project has since been suspended, according to the Journal.

Meanwhile, Democrats on the House Appropriations Committee said in October that during the record government shutdown this fall, DHS had already acquired two Gulfstream jets for $200 million.

“We have noted that in the midst of a government shutdown, the United States Coast Guard entered into a sole-source contract with Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation to acquire two new G700 luxury jets to facilitate travel for you and the Deputy Secretary, at a cost to the taxpayer of $200 million,” Democratic Reps. Rosa DeLauro and Lauren Underwood wrote in a letter to DHS.

A DHS spokesperson told the Journal that parts of its reporting on aircraft purchases were inaccurate, but declined to provide further clarification.

Congress already approved Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” in July, which devotes about $170 billion to immigration and border operations, a sum that makes ICE the most funded law enforcement agency in the federal government.

In September, the Guardian reported that the Trump administration was moving immigrants detained under its deportation program in ways that violated their constitutionally protected rights, often by plane.

Data disclosed by charter company Global Crossing (GlobalX) detailed the journeys of tens of thousands of immigrants who shuttled across the country before their deportation.