DHS Head Allegedly Approved Acquisition of 10 Engineless Spirit Airline Planes Which Carrier Didn't Own

The head of the United States Department of Homeland Security allegedly authorized the purchase of Spirit Airline jets before discovering that the carrier did not truly possess the aircraft – and that the planes lacked engines.

This bizarre incident was contained in a investigation published on Friday, which described how the secretary and a former campaign manager had recently arranged to buy ten Boeing 737 planes from the airline. Sources with knowledge told the paper that the pair planned to use the planes to increase deportation flights – and for private use.

Those insiders also claimed that Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents had warned them that purchasing aircraft would be significantly costlier than simply expanding current charter agreements.

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Making the situation more complex, the airline, which filed for bankruptcy proceedings for the second time in August, did not possess the aircraft and their engines would have had to be bought independently. The proposal has since been halted, according to the report.

Meanwhile, Democrats on the House funding panel said in the autumn that during this season's historically lengthy government shutdown, the Department of Homeland Security had already purchased two Gulfstream aircraft for $200 million.

“It has come to our attention that, in the middle of a federal shutdown, the United States Coast Guard entered into a single-source contract with Gulfstream Aerospace to acquire two new G700 luxury jets to support travel for you and the deputy secretary, at a cost to the taxpayer of $200 million,” Democratic lawmakers wrote in a letter to the department.

A DHS spokesperson informed the outlet that some details in the report about the plane purchases were inaccurate but declined to provide further details.

The legislature had earlier authorized the so-called “big, beautiful bill” in July, which allocates roughly $170 billion for immigration-related and border-related operations, a sum that makes ICE the most heavily funded federal agency in the US government.

In September, it was reported that the government was moving immigrants detained as part of its deportation agenda in ways that breached their legal rights, often by air.

Leaked data examined from charter airline Global Crossing outlined the journeys of thousands of individuals who have been shuttled around the country before deportation.