The Department of Homeland Security has purchased two Gulfstream private jets for Kristi Noem, the secretary, and other top department officials at a cost of $172 million, according to documents reviewed by The New York Times.
The jets, which a department official said were needed for safety, are the latest expenditures on behalf of Ms. Noem to draw scrutiny from Democrats and other critics who have noted her lavish spending on living and other expenses during her time in public life.
The Coast Guard put in its budget earlier this year a request to purchase a new long-range Gulfstream V jet, estimated to cost $50 million, to replace an aging one used by Ms. Noem.
“The avionics are increasingly obsolete, the communications are increasingly unreliable and it’s in need of recapitalization, like much of the rest of the fleet,” Kevin Lunday, the acting commandant of the Coast Guard, told members of Congress at a hearing in May.
He said a new aircraft was necessary to provide agency leaders with “secure, reliable, on-demand communications and movement to go forward, visit our operating forces, conducting the missions and then come back here to Washington and make sure we can work together to get them what they need.”
Documents that were posted to a public government procurement website and reviewed by The Times show that the department has since signed a contract with Gulfstream to buy not one but two “used” G700 jets, touted by the company as having the “most spacious cabin in the industry.” The total contract value is listed as a little over $172 million.
It was not immediately clear where the funding for the jets came from.
In an emailed statement, a public affairs official at the Department of Homeland Security called the purchase “a matter of safety” and said the department’s existing jet was over 20 years old and “well beyond operational usage hours for a corporate aircraft.” The statement did not respond to inquiries as to why the contract had expanded beyond the department’s initial budget request.
In a letter reviewed by The New York Times, Representatives Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut, the senior Democrat on the Appropriations Committee, and Lauren Underwood of Illinois, the top Democrat overseeing its homeland security panel, asked Ms. Noem to “clarify the funding source.”
“In addition to raising serious questions about your ability to effectively lead an agency whose procurement strategies appear to vary on a whim, the procurement of new luxury jets for your use suggests that the U.S.C.G. has been directed to prioritize your own comfort above the U.S.C.G.’s operational needs, even during a government shutdown,” the lawmakers wrote. “We are deeply concerned about your judgment, leadership priorities, and responsibility as a steward of taxpayer dollars.”
Republicans included roughly $25 billion in new funding for the Coast Guard earlier this year in their marquee tax cut and domestic policy legislation, including about $2.3 billion for the “procurement and acquisition of rotary-wing aircraft.” Ms. Noem said last week that she was tapping some of those funds to ensure that members of the Coast Guard did not miss a paycheck during the shutdown.
Ms. Noem has implemented a requirement at the department that she personally approve any expense over $100,000. But her own spending habits have come under scrutiny.
She faced criticism this year from Democrats for staying rent-free at the waterfront home reserved for the Coast Guard’s commandant, as reported by the Washington Post, which also noted her frequent use of the Coast Guard’s private jet for personal travel.
A spokeswoman for the department said at the time that the housing arrangement was necessary to ensure Ms. Noem’s safety after she received an onslaught of threats. She also said the secretary had paid “tens of thousands of dollars” to reimburse the government for personal travel on the jet after the publication of the Post story.
Before coming to Washington, Ms. Noem, the former governor of South Dakota, also attracted attention for her spending habits. The Sioux Falls Argus Leader reported in 2021 that she had spent $68,000 in taxpayer money on a redecoration of the governor’s mansion that included rugs, chandeliers and the installation of a sauna.
The Associated Press reported in March that South Dakota taxpayers had covered about $150,000 in Ms. Noem’s personal and political travel costs including while she was campaigning for Mr. Trump; taking a six-day trip to Paris that included a speech at a right-wing gathering; and on a bear hunt in Canada with her niece.
Catie Edmondson covers Congress for The Times.
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