Department of Homeland Security spent $464 million on aircraft then parked them or used them for officials

The Department of Homeland Security spent $464 million on a no-bid contract to purchase 10 aircraft, justifying the rush by citing urgent mass deportation needs. However, the fleet has remained largely idle or been repurposed to transport Trump administration officials. Seven Boeing 737s sit unstaffed and parked in Lake Charles, Louisiana, while luxury jets have been allocated to officials like FBI Director Kash Patel. Senate Democrats are demanding an inspector general investigation into the spending.

DHS aircraft purchase wasteful spending

• ▪The Department of Homeland Security spent nearly $200 million of its budget to acquire a pair of Gulfstream G650 luxury jets.
• ▪The Department of Homeland Security spent $464 million on a contract to purchase 10 used airplanes, including luxury jets and passenger planes.
• ▪The Department of Homeland Security purchased a Boeing 787-8 MAX jet outfitted with a bedroom, shower, kitchen, bar, and flat-screen televisions.

No-bid contracting practices

• ▪The president of Daedalus Aviation Corporation also runs Salus Worldwide Solutions, a company with ties to Corey Lewandowski that received nearly $1 billion under a separate contract with the Department of Homeland Security.
• ▪The Department of Homeland Security's contract with Daedalus Aviation Corporation swelled by $303 million on the day Secretary Markwayne Mullin was sworn into office.
• ▪The Department of Homeland Security awarded a $464 million no-bid contract to Daedalus Aviation Corporation, a firm led by a chairman who donated to a political committee supporting former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.

Luxury jet allocation to officials

• ▪The Department of Homeland Security sought to loan or lease its acquired luxury jets to other agencies, including one Gulfstream G650 jet for Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Kash Patel.
• ▪The Department of Homeland Security handed over one of its newly acquired Gulfstream G650 luxury jets to Donald Trump's border czar Tom Homan.
• ▪The Department of Homeland Security is removing a bedroom from its acquired Boeing 787-8 MAX jet to loan the aircraft to the Department of Defense.

Congressional oversight investigation

• ▪Democratic members of the Senate Appropriations Committee sent a letter on August 12, 2026, requesting that the Department of Homeland Security's inspector general investigate the aircraft purchases.
• ▪Senate Democrats requested that Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin provide contract details, flight logs, and legal justifications for the purchase, operation, and maintenance of the 10 aircraft.

Mass deportation implementation gaps

• ▪Immigration and Customs Enforcement has historically relied on private charter companies or military aircraft for deportation flights, making the sudden acquisition of a private luxury fleet unclear to critics.
• ▪The Department of Homeland Security justified the rapid purchase of 10 aircraft by claiming they were urgently needed to support the Trump administration's mass deportation campaign.

Parked Boeing aircraft in Louisiana

• ▪An internal government document revealed that the Department of Homeland Security kept the seven Boeing 737 passenger jets parked because the agency lacked the necessary staff to operate them.
• ▪The Department of Homeland Security left seven older Boeing 737 passenger jets parked at an airport in Lake Charles, Louisiana, for months at a time.
• ▪Four of the seven parked Boeing 737 passenger jets were intended for congressional delegations, while three were designated to support Immigration and Customs Enforcement deportation flights.

2 sources