Kristi Noem wants the White House to sign off on purchasing a $70 million luxury jet at the taxpayer’s expense on the grounds that the aircraft with a private bedroom will be used for deportations.
Sources told NBC News that the Department of Homeland Security has submitted a request to the Office of Management and Budget to purchase the Boeing 737 Max 8, which the secretary, dubbed ‘ICE Barbie’ for her habit of cosplaying as an immigration agent, has until now only used on a lease basis.
DHS officials have apparently told OMB that if the application is approved, the aircraft will be used for both deportations and official cabinet business.
The jet features a bedroom with a queen-sized bed, a kitchen, showers, a bar, and several large TV sets. Its “exceptional interior design” was reportedly done “by renowned New York designer Peter Marino.”
Asked how exactly the luxurious plane would be used to remove migrants from the country, a DHS spokesperson told NBC: “At least one of the bedrooms is currently being converted for seating to prepare the aircraft to meet the demands of its deportation mission set.”
The jet currently seats a maximum of 18 passengers. Deportation flights typically carry between 50 and 100 migrants.
One unnamed DHS official told NBC the claims of the jet being a “necessary purchase” for deportations were “far-fetched.”
Perhaps mindful of those qualms, the DHS spokesperson told the news outlet the “plane flies at 40% cheaper than what the military aircraft flies for ICE deportation flights,” and that this will eventually save “the American taxpayer hundreds of millions of dollars.”
The Daily Beast has contacted DHS for further comment on this story.
