Kristi Noem is facing major backlash after reportedly spending a jaw-dropping $172 million on two luxury jets — a move critics say was all about flying herself and top officials around in style.
The controversial Department of Homeland Security secretary, mockingly dubbed “ICE Barbie” online, reportedly approved the big-money deal to replace her old aircraft, but not everyone’s buying her “safety” excuse.
According to The New York Times, DHS signed a deal with Gulfstream to buy two “used” G700s, a high-end model famous for having “the most spacious cabin in the industry.” The total price tag? Around $172 million. That’s more than triple what the U.S. Coast Guard, which operates under DHS, originally asked for, around $50 million, to replace what it called a run-down Gulfstream V.
So where did the extra money come from? No one seems to know — even Times admitted it “hasn’t been able to determine exactly where the funding came from.” During a May hearing, Coast Guard acting commandant Kevin Lunday told Congress that the old plane was falling apart. “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,” he said.
He added the new aircraft would provide “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.”
A DHS spokesperson later told the Times the new jets were purchased purely “as a matter of safety,” saying the old one, now 20 years old, was “well beyond operational usage hours for a corporate aircraft.” But critics aren’t buying it. Two powerful House Democrats, Rosa DeLauro and Lauren Underwood, fired off a scathing letter demanding Noem explain where the money came from.
“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 letter reportedly reads.
They didn’t stop there, accusing Noem of showing “deeply concerning judgment” and “poor stewardship” of taxpayer dollars. And this isn’t the first time Noem’s spending habits have come under fire. Earlier this year, reports revealed she had been staying for free in a swanky D.C. home normally reserved for Coast Guard officials.
Kristi Noem also been accused of hypocrisy for imposing new spending rules requiring her personal approval for any DHS expense over $100,000 — while simultaneously spending millions on luxury jets for herself. Back when she was governor of South Dakota, taxpayers reportedly shelled out $150,000 for her official and personal travel, including a bear-hunting trip to Canada with her niece. Now, critics say Noem’s latest splurge shows she hasn’t changed one bit. “She’s all about luxury for herself while telling everyone else to tighten their belts,” one Democratic aide fumed.
