PLANE AND SIMPLE

Trump’s DHS Boss Slapped With Bombshell Demand Over Shock Jet Revelation

Lawmakers are trying to determine the point of having planes that barely fly.

Senators have written a letter demanding answers over the Department of Homeland Security’s grounded deportation fleet.

It snapped up a luxury Boeing 737, seven older 737s and two more corporate Gulfstreams at the end of last year on a no-bid contract that it said was urgently needed to fulfill President Donald Trump’s deportation agenda.

Almost a year on, the $464 million fleet has been dubbed a ‘ghost’, having barely been used, and is under renewed scrutiny from Senate Democrats.

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In their letter, Sens. Richard Blumenthal, Peter Welch, and Adam Schiff demanded to see correspondence between the seller, Northern Virginia-based Daedalus Aviation Corporation, and past and present DHS leadership, hoping to determine the point of the planes.

The fiasco has seen both former DHS boss Kristi Noem and her replacement, Markwayne Mullin, blame each other, and the department try to lease two of the luxury jets to other government departments.

Senators are also asking for logs of where the planes have flown, as well as who has been onboard.

“The waste generated by parking most of these aircraft compounds the loss of taxpayer funds involved in the suspect, no-bid process the Department hurriedly implemented to buy these jets,” they wrote, according to The New York Times.

Daedalus has no prior record of government contracts, prompting the senators to ask in their letter why DHS chose to award the contract to it.

The Times previously obtained an internal document saying DHS didn’t have enough personnel to fly them, and showing that the planes had barely been used. The fleet languishes at Lake Charles, Louisiana, CNN reports.

Among the ghost fleet is Noem’s “Big Beautiful Jet,” which is thought to have been used to ferry Trump administration officials around the world.

A DHS spokesperson previously told the Daily Beast: “The contract for Daedalus was made and approved by department leadership before Secretary Mullin was sworn in.”

They added that the department “reserves the right to adjust course in an environment with evolving requirements and demands.”

A spokesperson for Noem later hit back, saying that it had been under Mullin’s watch that the deal had been “finalized.”

The department told the Times in August that two of the planes were due to be used for deportation flights this month.

The newspaper’s analysis found that the Daedalus contract swelled by $303 million on the day that Mullin officially started the job.

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The Daily Beast revealed in March that the company’s CEO had put his previous airline into bankruptcy.

Daedalus’ chair, William Walters III, is a Trump donor who had given $10,000 to a pro-Noem super PAC.

A DHS spokesperson declined to comment on the letter directly, adding, “Under new leadership, DHS is assessing all our resources, including aircraft, to maximize efficiency and continue to deliver on President Trump’s mission of securing the homeland for all Americans. Secretary Mullin is 100% focused on ensuring the needs of our Department are met while being the best possible steward of taxpayer dollars.”

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Harry ThompsonNews Reporter

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