The Trump White House plans to keep a $70 million luxury aircraft purchased by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and will make it available to First Lady Melania Trump and select Cabinet secretaries, the Daily Mail reported. The jet, which drew scrutiny during Kristi Noem's tenure as Homeland Security Secretary, features bedrooms, showers, a kitchen, a bar, and four large flat-screen televisions.
The decision to retain the aircraft comes weeks after Noem was removed from DHS on March 5 and replaced by Markwayne Mullin, who was confirmed by the Senate shortly afterward. A DHS spokesman said the jet was purchased before Mullin's confirmation and insisted the plane serves a legitimate operational purpose.
The core question is straightforward: Is a $70 million aircraft with bedrooms and a bar a deportation tool, or a perk? The administration says both. Critics see something else entirely.
ICE purchased the aircraft for $70 million after DHS had already been leasing it. During the bidding process, ICE stated the plane would serve two purposes: deportation flights and travel for Cabinet officials, including DHS leadership such as Noem.
NBC News obtained images of the jet's interior in February, revealing the kind of appointments more commonly associated with corporate aviation than federal law enforcement. The photos showed bedrooms, showers, a full kitchen, a bar, and the flat-screen televisions, amenities that drew immediate attention from Republican operatives and DHS officials alike.
Noem's tenure at DHS was already marked by controversy well before the jet became a flashpoint. Her personal and family life had drawn scrutiny that raised separate questions about her leadership of the department.
The Wall Street Journal reported that some Cabinet secretaries would be allowed to use the aircraft. That reporting aligned with the DHS spokesman's statement that the jet would be available to officials who need "secure command and control and rapid long-range mobility."
The DHS spokesman offered a two-part defense. First, the plane has a security and mobility role for senior officials. Second, at least one of the bedrooms is being converted into additional seating "to prepare the aircraft to meet the demands of its deportation mission."
"This aircraft will be available to Cabinet members who need secure command and control and rapid long-range mobility."
That statement from the DHS spokesman frames the jet as an operational asset, not a luxury item. The bedroom-to-seating conversion is meant to reinforce that framing, the administration is signaling that the plane will carry deportees, not just dignitaries.
But the conversion of "at least one" bedroom leaves open how many bedrooms the aircraft has and how many will remain configured for VIP comfort. The spokesman did not specify the total number of bedrooms or the expected seating capacity after the renovation.
The broader controversy around Noem's time at DHS extended well beyond the jet. Reports about her husband's personal life added a layer of distraction to her leadership of the department at a time when border enforcement was the administration's signature domestic priority.
When NBC News published its report on the jet's lavish interior, the story quickly circulated among Republican insiders. It was sent to an email list that included important GOP operators and RNC members, a distribution that itself became a minor subplot.
RNC Communications Director Zach Parkinson pushed back hard on the implication that the story's circulation reflected internal Republican alarm about Noem or the jet.
"Whoever this 'source' is clearly has no idea how media monitoring works. 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."
Parkinson went further, offering a full-throated endorsement of Noem's work at the time.
"Secretary Noem and all of President Trump's appointees at DHS are doing great work and have the RNC's full support."
That statement was made before Noem was let go on March 5. The gap between the RNC's public support and her subsequent departure speaks for itself.
The aircraft had already seen high-profile use before the controversy peaked. DHS had leased the jet, and Noem used it for a trip to Tel Aviv, one of the few specific uses documented in reporting on the plane. The trip's dates and full itinerary remain unclear, but the fact that a DHS Secretary flew to Israel on a jet purchased with deportation funds raised obvious questions about mission creep.
Other questions about Noem's travel and the people in her political orbit also drew attention during her final weeks in office. Taxpayer-funded trips involving associates added to the picture of a DHS leadership that seemed to generate more headlines about perks than about enforcement results.
When the White House was asked for comment on the jet's future, it referred reporters to DHS. That referral is standard practice, but it also keeps the White House at arm's length from a story that involves the First Lady's travel arrangements, a detail that guarantees continued media interest.
Several basic facts about the jet and its use remain publicly unclear. The aircraft's model and tail number have not been disclosed in available reporting. The exact purchase date is unknown. The lease period under DHS before the $70 million acquisition has not been specified.
Most importantly, no official policy or authorization governing the line between personal and official use of the aircraft has been made public. Which Cabinet secretaries, beyond the general category, are authorized to fly on it? Under what circumstances? And who approves each flight?
The broader questions about Noem's DHS tenure may be settled history now that Mullin has taken the reins. But the jet remains. And so do the questions about whether a $70 million aircraft bought in the name of deportation enforcement is being used primarily for that purpose, or whether the deportation mission is the justification, not the job.
Conservatives who cheered the administration's promise of mass deportations have every right to ask whether this plane is flying illegal immigrants home or flying officials in comfort. The answer had better be both, and the receipts had better prove it.
