Noem’s DHS Made $900M in Purchases from Campaign Donor
NEWS & RESEARCH
During her brief tenure as Secretary of Homeland Security, Christi Noem, now a State Department special envoy, purchased ten aircraft through Daedalus Aviation Corporation, a company linked to William Walters, a former State Department official and donor to both Noem and Donald Trump. The aircraft were among the $900 million in contracts given to companies led by Walters. The fleet was ostensibly for deporting immigrants. But Noem’s DHS paid $108 million for a Boeing 737 equipped with two bedrooms, a deluxe bar, and marble showers, that Noem used for travel with adviser Corey Lewandowski and which she loaned to First Lady Melania Trump. Daedalus paid $18 million less for the aircraft just a couple months before selling it to DHS. DHS also purchased two Gulfstream luxury jets for $23 million more than Deadalus paid for them.
SOURCES: Mother Jones | Washington Post | New York Times | New York Times
ANALYSIS & OPINION
While Noem claimed the fleet would "double deportations," the "aircraft-buying binge" drew bipartisan fire. Right-leaning Reason Magazine characterized the luxury acquisitions as taxpayer exploitation, while Rep. Mike Levin (D-CA) labeled them symbols of "arrogance and entitlement." Ethics experts and DHS whistleblowers have flagged a lack of competitive bidding, noting that former DHS Under Secretary Christopher Pratt is a former colleague of Noem’s donor Walters.
SOURCES: Reason | NBC News | Mother Jones | Mike Levin Op-Ed: Orange County Register
HOW TO FIX IT
Congressional action to address oversight and contracting transparency:
Audit Spending: Support Sen. Chris Murphy’s (D-CT) request for a GAO legal opinion on the legality of these purchases.
Investigate Misconduct: Back the DHS Inspector General’s ongoing audit of department contracting.
Restrict No-Bid Contracts: Narrowly define exemptions that allow for noncompetitive, "sole-source" federal awards, and strictly enforce these rules.
Amend the Federal Acquisition Regulation: To support the rigorous implementation of the Preventing Organizational Conflicts of Interest in Federal Acquisition Act.
