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.’
Hellbound and Down 