Newly obtained photos reveal the garish interior of a luxury private jet used by ousted Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem—which is now to be used by First Lady Melania Trump.
Images from inside the Boeing 737 Max 8 show the plane’s bedroom, complete with dark wood paneling and windows looking out over the clouds, along with dark brown carpeting and a queen-size bed bizarrely lit from below by green-tinted lamps, the Daily Beast’s new sister Substack, PunchUp, can exclusively reveal.
The pictures—which also appear to show a digitally controlled shower doubling as a sauna, as well as, perhaps most oddly, a leather-covered toilet—come after PunchUp exposed how President Donald Trump has concealed the cost and arrangements for obtaining the jet, which has been taken from Noem, for use by White House officials.
They were passed to PunchUp by a whistleblower, who was granted anonymity. The images show the plane after the bed had been stripped.
Noem, nicknamed “ICE Barbie” for her habit of cosplaying as an immigration agent during her ill-fated tenure as head of DHS, made extensive use of the private jet on a lease basis over the past year, and had sought to purchase it outright prior to her ouster last month.
She attempted to justify the purchase as a crucial tool for “high-profile” deportations, even as details emerged of its interior being outfitted like a mile-high penthouse, featuring a bedroom and queen-sized bed, showers, a living area and flat-screen televisions, as well as a full kitchen and bar. The images obtained by the Daily Beast and PunchUp offer the first actual look inside the controversial plane.
Trump fired the secretary after a withering series of congressional hearings in which she was grilled over a slew of scandals that unfolded throughout her time at DHS. Those included an outcry over what was then believed to be the jet’s $172 million price tag, backlash over $220 million splurged on a self-glorifying advertising campaign, the downplaying of the killing of two American citizens by federal agents as a “domestic terror” incident, and an alleged extramarital affair with her adviser, Corey Lewandowski.
The president, who claimed to have had no knowledge of the eye-wateringly expensive advertisements that he said he “wasn’t thrilled about,” fired Noem just two days after she told lawmakers under oath he most certainly had. She was given the newly created role of “special envoy to the Shield of the Americas,” a role that PunchUp also reported Tuesday had been created to keep her out of the Senate race in South Dakota.
Trump has since determined that while Noem had to go, the jet she had looked to purchase can stay, and will now be used by select members of his Cabinet, along with the first lady.
PunchUp exclusively revealed last week that the White House, which claims it “decided to buy” the luxury aircraft, appears to have concealed the true cost of the purchase, as well as who exactly will be footing the bill.
Homeland Security says the plane was bought for $70 million, but top administration insiders told PunchUp that the actual price tag is $108 million and that it is being covered by the department rather than the White House.
“Not sure who is providing that information but it is inaccurate,” a senior official told PunchUp of the figure quoted by DHS, which stands roughly $40 million, or 54 percent, lower than the plane’s true cost. “The White House is essentially telling ICE: you didn’t have any say, but f–k you, pony up the cash and hand over the keys,” another added of deliberations over the payments.
The jet isn’t the only new aircraft set to land in executive branch hangars this year, coming ahead of the anticipated delivery of a luxury $400 million Boeing 747-8 jumbo jet that the Qatari royal family, amid widespread outcry over potential conflicts of interest, gifted to the president in May of last year.
The Daily Beast has contacted the White House and DHS for comment on this story. A DHS spokesperson said, “ICE purchased this plane before Secretary Mullin. This aircraft will be available to cabinet members who need secure command and control and rapid long-range mobility.” This time, they made no mention of the price tag.
