Kristi Noem does love skipping work to fly around the country and the world. While she was Governor, she tried to get the state to buy her a five-million-dollar jet to fly her kids to weddings. She had to settle for a cushy but slower $4.5M turboprop and lots of personal flights paid for by taxpayers. Now that Noem has the much larger federal budget in which to hide her vanity purchases, she’s angling again for a jet that would cost ten times what she bid for a jet in South Dakota:
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem is pushing to replace her department’s aging Gulfstream V jet with a new $50 million aircraft, but Congress has not yet approved the request.
The proposal, tucked into the Coast Guard’s budget earlier this year, would fund a new plane for use by Noem and senior officials. Supporters argue the current aircraft’s avionics and communications systems are unreliable.
Assistant Homeland Security Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said the jet is “well beyond operational usage hours for a corporate aircraft,” while Acting Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Kevin Lunday testified the upgrade is necessary for safety and mission readiness.
The request has drawn sharp criticism in Washington.
Rep. Lauren Underwood, D-Ill., called the plan a “last-minute addition” and questioned why Noem needs a new jet when she already has access to one. Critics also point to the political optics, with Noem seeking luxury travel as her agency faces budget fights over border security and disaster response.
As of mid-August, the purchase remains under review. Congress will decide whether to keep the line item in the final DHS appropriations bill [Todd Epp, “Noem Watch: Noem Still Waiting on Congress for Her New Corporate Jet,” Northern Plains News, 2025.08.19].
Democratic members of the House Committee on Homeland Security sent Noem a letter on May 30 asking her to explain why she is prioritizing a new plane for herself over updating older more mission-critical aircraft:
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. According to an April 2024 Government Accountability Office (GAO) report, many USCG aircraft entered service in the 1980s and 1990s—making them significantly older than the Gulfstream jet you are looking to replace, which entered service in 2002. Some USCG helicopters are so old that the service has faced difficulty with obtaining spare parts because the manufacturer no longer produces them. According to GAO, USCG failed to meet its targets for aircraft fleet availability during fiscal years 2018 through 2022, when availability ranged from only 66 to 68 percent. Simply put, your purchase of a new jet would directly diminish the availability of other USCG aircraft to carry out critical missions.
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. Your desire to travel in luxury should not eclipse the need for USCG service members to fly safely and conduct lifesaving missions [Reps. Bennie Thompson and LaMonica McIver, letter to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, 2025.05.30].
The letter asked Noem to report on expected service life of her current jets and other aircraft U.S. Coast Guard aircraft and on her use of the two jets at her disposal since becoming Secretary. The letter asked Noem to provide that information by June 13, but the Democrats have not yet posted any response from the DHS head. She may be too busy jetting around the world with her stealth-chief of staff Corey Lewandowski to write.
p.s.: Since becoming Secretary, Noem has used the current Coast Guard jet to make nine flights to South Dakota.