Markwayne Mullin and Kristi Noem Are Pointing Fingers at Each Other Over ‘Barely-Used’ $500M Jet Fleet

Screenshots via CSPAN

President Donald Trump’s current and former Department of Homeland Security heads are blaming each other over a $500 million fleet of “barely used” jets.

A lengthy New York Times investigative report published Thursday detailed the massive, $464 million DHS deal with Virginia-based Daedalus Aviation Corporation for 10 jets — the latest deal to raise questions about the Trump administration’s use of no bid contracts.

The jets have sat in Lake Charles, Louisiana for “months at a time,” The Times reported.

DHS claimed the aircraft are going through “maintenance checks” and said two will be used for deportation flights later in the month.

Three of the 10 aircraft are luxury business jets, while the other seven are Boeing 737 passenger jets, which the agency intends to use for deportations, according to the report. DHS typically uses other agencies’ planes or leases private flights for deportations.

In separate statements, current DHS Secretary Mullin and and former DHS Secretary Noem each placed “responsibility” for the contract at the other’s doorstep.

“The contract for Daedalus was made and approved by department leadership before Secretary Mullin was sworn in,” DHS told The Times in a statement.

The agency said it reserves “the right to adjust course in an environment with evolving requirements and demands.”

A spokesperson for Noem, who was removed from her role in March, made it clear the contract was “finalized” under Mullin’s leadership.

According to the Times, the contract was upped by $300 million once Mullin took over.

The administration has contended the “urgency” of its deportation efforts require DHS to bypass traditional contract procedures.

Sens. Patty Murray (D-WA) and Chris Murphy (D-CT) have demanded an investigation into the contract, which was awarded to a company led by a chairman named William Walters who previously donated $10,000 to a political committee supporting Noem.

The company claimed that Walters was unaware of the connection between the committee and Noem.

“The American people deserve a full accounting of this gross misuse of their tax dollars,” Murray and Murphy wrote in a letter Thursday to DHS.

The senators claimed the unused aircraft are simply acting as “in-house private jet service” for Trump administration officials.

“This includes providing jet services not only for DHS officials like yourself, but also for White House Border Czar Tom Homan, other administration officials, members of the first family, and even the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Kash Patel,” they wrote.

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