Kristi Noem’s use of a luxurious private jet has raised alarm among powerful players in the Republican Party, as Donald Trump’s top immigration enforcer seeks to deploy it for migrant deportations.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which falls under Noem’s jurisdiction inside the Department of Homeland Security, is seeking approval from the White House to purchase a $70 million luxury Boeing jet, according to NBC News.
The jet is already being leased by DHS – Noem used it to travel to Tel Aviv, Israel – but now the agency wants to own it.
ICE claims the jet will be used for deportations and travel for Cabinet officials, including DHS leadership like Noem.
But some DHS officials privately expressed concern to NBC whether the luxury 747 jet is necessary for Noem to carryout the president’s mass deportation agenda.
When asked how the plane would be used for deportations, a DHS spokesperson said ‘at least one of the bedrooms is currently being converted for seating to prepare the aircraft to meet the demands of its deportation mission’.
NBC’s scoop caused the Republican National Committee to blast the story to the top power brokers and media pundits in the Republican party. The story was sent on Thursday morning to an email list filled with some of the most important operators in the GOP, including RNC members.
‘Knives are out for Noem. They only send out stories they want folks to know about,’ one GOP operator on the RNC’s list told the Daily Mail. ‘They don’t send out every clipping.’
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) under Noem are seeking approval from the White House to purchase a $70 million luxury Boeing jet
NBC’s scoop caused the RNC to flag the story to the top power brokers and media pundits in the Republican party
Noem recently used the jet for a trip to Tel Aviv, Israel
An RNC spokesperson, however, downplayed the significance of the story being sent to the narrow email server filled with top officials in the GOP.
‘Whoever this “source” is clearly has no idea how media monitoring works,’ RNC Communications Director Zach Parkinson told the Daily Mail.
‘The RNC Communications team routinely monitors and alerts all kinds of stories – even fake ones – as it helps Republican communicators push back on legacy media lies.’
‘Secretary Noem and all of President Trump’s appointees at DHS are doing great work and have the RNC’s full support,’ added Parkinson.
The photos obtained by NBC News show the jet is equipped with a sprawling bedroom, flashy shower, and marble cocktail bar.
The White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) will have final approval over Noem’s jet. The White House did not respond to the Daily Mail’s request for comment.
Political appointees in ICE and the White House initially were not going to purchase the plane but suddenly changed their minds, according to NBC’s report.
‘That particular plane was a “no,” we weren’t going to buy it. Then all of a sudden, they said ‘yes,'” a DHS official said.
Noem’s jet is equipped with a sprawling bedroom, flashy shower, and marble cocktail bar
The White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) will have final approval over Noem’s jet
Officials also planned out how the plane could be ‘retrofitted’ for deportations, as well as for personal travel for Noem, according to the report.
The same DHS official later noted that Noem expects the White House to approve her multi-million dollar jet.
