Democrats are demanding answers about a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) plan to purchase a new $50 million jet for Secretary Kristi Noem.
The jet, slotted in as a line item to the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) budget, comes as the department argues its current plane is beyond its operational usage hours.
“Reports indicate this jet would cost $50 million and replace one of the two Gulfstream jets already at your disposal. Funding the acquisition of this new jet would come at the cost of other USCG investments, including sorely needed modernization of the USCG’s aging aircraft fleet used by service members for search and rescue and other critical missions,” Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) wrote in a letter to Noem alongside Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-N.J.).
Both Democrats sit on the House Homeland Security panel. Thompson is the panel’s ranking member.
“Simply put, your purchase of a new jet would directly diminish the availability of other USCG aircraft to carry out critical missions,” the two wrote.
The letter from the two lawmakers describes an aging fleet of Coast Guard aircraft, noting that many entered service in the 1980s and 1990s, in contrast with the current Gulfstream used for Noem’s travel, which was purchased in 2002. They also point to a Government Accountability Office report finding that the Coast Guard has had trouble securing parts for its helicopters as the manufacturer no longer produces them.
The letter asks DHS to detail flights taken by Noem on two existing jets used for travel as well as a breakdown of all Coast Guard aircraft that “have a service life expiration date” prior to the two Gulfstreams.
DHS did not immediately respond to request for comment Friday but has previously defended the need for the jets.
“The current CG-101 G550 is over twenty years old, outside of Gulfstream’s service life, and well beyond operational usage hours for a corporate aircraft,” Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary for public affairs, said in a statement when news of the budget request was first reported.
“This is a matter of safety. Much like the Coast Guard’s ships that are well beyond their service life and safe operational usage, Coast Guard’s aircraft are too,” she added. “This Administration is taking action to restore our Nation’s finest maritime Armed Service to a capable fighting force.”
Coast Guard Adm. Kevin Lunday was grilled about the request when appearing before the House Appropriations Committee earlier this month.
“I was horrified last Friday when we received a last minute addition to your spend plan for fiscal ’25, a new $50 million Gulfstream 5 for Secretary Noem’s personal travel coming from the Coast Guard budget. She already has a Gulfstream 5, by the way, this is a new one,” said Rep. Lauren Underwood (D-Ill.), the top Democrat on the committee’s Subcommittee on Homeland Security.
Lunday described the plane as “old, and it’s approaching obsolescence and the end of its service life, the avionics are increasingly obsolete, the communications are increasingly unreliable, and it’s in need of recapitalization, like much of the rest of the fleet.”
Thompson and McIver said the bid for a new plane for Noem echoes President Trump’s efforts to secure a new Air Force One from Qatar.
“We know President Trump has set a high bar for wasteful luxury travel by government officials with his unconstitutional attempt to personally acquire a $400 million jet from a foreign government. That does not mean members of his Cabinet must follow suit,” they wrote.
“Your desire to travel in luxury should not eclipse the need for USCG service members to fly safely and conduct lifesaving missions.”
