FIRE SALE

DHS to Sell ICE Barbie’s Mile-High Boudoir

After spending billions on planes and detention facilities, DHS is now considering whether it needs them at all.

The Trump administration is eyeing a fire sale of some of Kristi Noem’s most controversial purchases.

During her stint as Homeland Security secretary, Noem spent an estimated $40 billion acquiring giant detention warehouses to expand ICE’s capacity to hold up to 100,000 migrants at a time and purchasing aircraft, including a luxury Boeing 737 Max 8.

The customized jet became one of the most controversial symbols of her tenure after reports revealed it featured a private boudoir.

Now, under new Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, officials are considering selling off some of those same assets, according to NBC News.

Photographs showed the private jet outfitted with a queen-sized bed, mirrored wardrobe, kitchen, living area, showers, multiple large televisions, and a custom red, white, and blue paint job.

A DHS spokesperson previously told the Daily Beast that the plane—which was earmarked for deportation flights—was also needed for Cabinet-level travel, and that it was cheaper than using a military plane to carry out deportations.

However, DHS most often uses chartered flights rather than military ones.

The jet also became caught up in the controversy surrounding Noem and former adviser Corey Lewandowski. The pair have denied being romantically involved, despite persistent speculation.

A New York magazine exposé in October 2025 reported that a relationship between the pair was “widely understood” in Washington, with one FEMA official describing it as the “worst-kept secret in D.C.”

Their travels generated a steady stream of gossip, including reports that a pilot was fired and later rehired over a supposedly missing blanket, which some officials suspected was actually a cover story for a misplaced bag.

Now the luxury aircraft appears to be just one item on a sweeping—and expensively acquired—list of assets up for sale.

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ICE has also reportedly identified several warehouses purchased under Noem that could be sold off, though officials stressed to NBC that no final decisions have been made.

The facilities were obtained in a $38 billion acquisition and retrofitting program intended to create enough detention space to hold 100,000 migrants at a time.

The Daily Beast reached out to the Department of Homeland Security and the White House for comment.

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DHS officials told NBC that ICE no longer believes it needs that level of detention capacity, representing a remarkable retreat from one of the most ambitious components of President Donald Trump’s mass deportation agenda.

The so-called mega-warehouses sparked fierce opposition in communities across the country.

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Maryland successfully sued to block a proposed facility near Hagerstown, while Mississippi Sen. Roger Wicker publicly criticized plans for another warehouse in his state.

A lawsuit filed by the city of Social Circle, Georgia, alleged ICE paid more than five times a property’s assessed value to acquire a warehouse there.

“We are a quaint, small Southern town, and this would triple the population overnight and have all kinds of strain on our water and sewer infrastructure,” city manager Eric Taylor told NBC.

Taylor welcomed reports that ICE might be backing away from the project but remained skeptical.

“That’s great news,” he said. “I’ll believe it when I see it.”

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