Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has now blown through more than $300 million in three private luxury jets that shuttle her around the world.
According to an Axios bombshell on Saturday, the money Noem used for her luxury travel was allocated by Congress for border security.
The scandal comes amid a fight between the White House and Democrats over funding for Noem's department. While talks continued into Friday, Politico reported, by Saturday morning, The Hill said that the two were at an impasse.
"This is the world's worst deal to buy an aircraft," one senior administration official complained to Axios about Noem's fleet.
The official went on to call it "an abuse," saying it misuses federal money.
There has been previous concern from Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought, who approached the White House with his thoughts on spending.
Last week, some even mocked Noem for the hefty spend on a top-of-the-line Boeing 737 Max 8 business jet. DHS claimed that they were going to take out one of the bedrooms in the private plane to retrofit it for deportations, an NBC News report said.
The money is coming from the GOP's flagship legislation, "The One Big Beautiful Bill Act," which was passed at the end of last year. The money in that measure significantly enhanced the DHS budget with the assumption it would be used for border security, hiring additional federal agents and improving technology.
One key budget item was part of a "self deportation" campaign, Axios noted. It was to be co-run by DHS and the State Department. Two sources inside the State Department said that at least one top official had concerns over Noem's lavish spending on jets.
What appears to have come from it is $300 million on private jets and millions spent on an ad campaign promoting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. They refer to it as a "wartime recruitment," the New Yorker reported last month.
It's only part of the fleet that Noem is purchasing. In the past, the government used existing planes, chartered planes, or traveled commercially when handling deportations. DHS has now purchased six normal 737 aircrafts to be used for immigrant removal.
AlterNet has been following the exorbitant spending on private planes since Noem entered office last Spring, when she requested $50 million for a new private plane because she felt the existing one was too old.
At the time, Steve Ellis, president of the watchdog group Taxpayers for Common Sense, complained, "On its face, there's nothing wrong with DHS buying a replacement for a 20-year-old plane per se, and it makes sense to fund replacements like this through the Coast Guard because they know how to buy planes. But this last-minute spending shift raises questions. Was this a planned replacement for an aircraft at the end of its lifecycle, or was this a top-down decision to get Secretary Noem a fancy new jet ahead of schedule? The Coast Guard has a lot of aging equipment and money spent on an executive jet isn't available for other asset needs. It's a question of priorities."
In the middle of the government shutdown in October 2025, Noem was handed $170 million to cover the cost of two Gulfstream G700 jets for Noem.
Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), the top Democrat on the House Committee on Homeland Security, called the spending “wholly inappropriate,” “blatantly immoral,” and “probably illegal” in a statement issued Sunday.
Just last week, former GOP strategist Steve Schmidt also referencedSchmidt also referenced the exorbitant jet plane that U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem uses to travel around the country. NBC News reported a brochure highlighted the plane’s “exceptional interior design by renowned New York designer Peter Marino,” complete with a sumptuous bed.
Host Jim Acosta described the plane as resembling Austin Powers’ “shag jet.”
To justify the spending, a DHS spokesperson told Axios, "Anyone who runs a business in the real world will tell you that owning a work vehicle is less expensive than dealing with long-term rental costs."
They did not clarify why three such "work vehicles" were necessary.
Noem's luxury standards date back to her time in the governor's mansion in South Dakota, when she spent more than $60,000 on the governor's residence, "adding luxury rugs, chandeliers, and a sauna," Axios reported, citing an investigation of the Sioux Falls Argus Leader.
Noem also spent more than $150,000 on personal and political travel, one court case identified, according to an AP News report.
Noem has recently been eyeing an exit, one report claimed.