AP Photo/Jack Dura, File
Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem and top adviser Corey Lewandowski ordered officials at Immigration and Customs Enforcement to purchase 10 jets from Spirit Airlines, before learning that the airline not only didn’t own the planes, but they also didn’t come with engines.
According to a Wall Street Journal report published on Friday, Noem and Lewandowski directed the purchase of 10 Boeing 737 jets from Spirit Airlines a few weeks ago.
The pair planned to use the planes to increase deportation flights, and for their own travel, people familiar with the matter told the Journal. Those same sources also said that Noem and Lewandowski were warned by ICE officials that the purchase would cost significantly more than simply increasing the number of flight contractors already working with the department.
Unfortunately for Noem and her adviser, the airline did not actually own the planes in question.
“Once the officials looked into the proposal, they learned that Spirit, which filed for bankruptcy for a second time in August, didn’t own the planes,” the report stated.
Moreover, the planes in question did not come with engines. These would need to be purchased separately, adding additional costs to the already mounting expenses for the department.
The spending and differences over tactics reportedly created infighting within the Department of Homeland Security, as Border Czar Tom Homan clashed with Noem over the most effective way to meet President Donald Trump’s campaign promise to deport one million undocumented immigrants in the first year of his presidency.
“At one point over the summer, Homan told Trump of concerns he had heard from senior immigration officials who had complained Noem and Lewandowski’s initiatives were getting in the way of operations, according to people familiar with the matter,” read the report.
Homan met with Trump and expressed concerns about Lewandowski’s management, according to a senior administration official and others familiar with the incident. Trump subsequently called Lewandowski to question his conduct and tell him to work more productively with others at DHS, the senior administration official said.
It couldn’t be determined how Lewandowski responded.
Fox News’ Laura Ingraham confronted Tom Homan in October about rumors of clashes with Noem. Homan did not directly address the alleged friction but told Ingraham the agency is working to increase arrests.
“As we get more agents on you will see arrests increase twice, three times, you are going to see the numbers skyrocket,” he said.
Spirit Airlines did not respond to a request for comment from the Wall Street Journal.
The post DHS Reportedly Sought to Buy Spirit Airlines Planes That Didn’t Have Engines and the Carrier Didn’t Own first appeared on Mediaite.