NYT reports DHS bought five planes from a Noem-linked donor's firm at markups as she left office

Left · 2The New York Times reported on Sunday 4 October that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) bought five airplanes at what experts called significant markups in the hours before Kristi Noem left her job as secretary, a deal that newly obtained records show was among the last acts of her 14-month tenure. 1 2 Left · 2The planes came from Daedalus Aviation Corporation, whose chairman, William Walters, gave $10,000 in 2024 to American Resolve, a political action committee set up to support Noem; Daedalus told the Times that Walters did not know the PAC was associated with Noem, although its website showed her image. 1 2 Left · 1According to the Independent's account of the Times report, DHS paid $108 million for a converted Boeing 737 that Daedalus had bought months earlier from a seller asking under $90 million, and $106 million for two Gulfstream jets that Daedalus had bought for $83 million. It also paid $45 million each for two 17-year-old Boeing 737 passenger planes, which aviation experts said typically sold for millions less. 2

Left · 1Raw Story, relaying the Times, said the purchases let Daedalus net as much as $100 million in profit; the 737 reportedly has a stand-up bar, two bedrooms, marble showers and a table covered in manta ray skin. 1 Left · 1Aircraft-market expert Richard Aboulafia of AeroDynamic Advisory told the Times the deal "does not resemble any aspect of an airline marketplace." 1 Left · 1Noem, now a State Department special envoy to the "Shield of the Americas" initiative, demanded on Sunday that the Times "entirely" retract the story. Noem called describing Walters as a "donor" "materially misleading" and the story "libelous". 2

Left · 1A Times spokesperson, Nicole Taylor, told the Independent on Monday that the paper stands by its characterisation of Walters and his firm as a political donor and a donor firm. 2 Left · 1Noem's successor, Markwayne Mullin, reportedly considered cancelling the purchases but did not after speaking with White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, who shared his concern about a hefty penalty. A DHS spokesperson did not deny that discussion and said the planes were bought before Mullin arrived; a White House official said Noem purchased the planes and that an unspecified termination fee made keeping them the most fiscally responsible choice. 2 Left · 2Raw Story said Noem and Mullin have each pointed the finger at the other over the purchases. DHS has declined to release the contract, according to the Times. 1 2

Left · 2The planes were meant for deportation flights but have largely sat idle, the Times reported, because DHS lacks crews to fly them. In August the Times reported DHS paid Daedalus $464 million for 10 planes during Noem's tenure. 1 2 Left · 1Trump announced Noem's firing on 5 March; she stayed in the Cabinet until 24 March, when DHS amended its Daedalus contract to add the 737 and four other planes, per the Times. DHS reportedly awarded more than $900 million in contracts to Walters-led companies under Noem. 2