Noem refutes report her DHS bought planes at inflated prices from donor

( NewsNation ) — The Department of Homeland Security reportedly bought five planes at inflated prices from a political donor to then-DHS Secretary Kristi Noem just hours before she left office — a charge she refutes.

The agency purchased the planes from Daedalus Aviation Corporation and paid $108 million for a Boeing 737 converted to a private jet, $106 million for a pair of Gulfstream jets and $45 million each for two Boeing 737 passenger jets, according to reporting by The New York Times .

The paper reported that the planes were purchased the morning before Noem left office. She had been fired on March 5 following several controversies but remained in the role until Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin took over on March 24.

In a post on social platform X , Noem pushed back, calling the paper “dishonest” and saying that “numerous corrections” had been made. She also called the term donor “misleading.”

William Walters, the head of Daedalus, donated $10,000 to political action committee American Resolve, which supported Noem. The planes were reportedly purchased at a large markup from what Daedalus originally paid to acquire them.

“If the individual did not personally make political contributions to Secretary Noem, or if the term ‘donor’ instead refers indirectly to unrelated entities or legally distinct contributions, the article simply fails to meet the standards of precision expected of The New York Times,” the former secretary wrote.

The $108 million Boeing 737 private plane was reportedly bought by Daedalus for less than $90 million a few months before DHS purchased it, according to the report. The Gulfstreams that Daedalus sold for $106 million were reportedly purchased for $83 million, said to be millions more than market prices.

The five planes make up half of a 10-plane purchase the Times previously reported on, which DHS said was necessary for deportation flights . However, without crews to fly them, the planes have gone largely unused.

In addition to the no-bid contract with Daedalus to purchase planes, the agency also hired Salus Worldwide, another company owned by Walters, to care for the purchased planes. That same company was also hired by DHS to fly Noem and her aides on chartered planes and to encourage immigrants to self-deport .

NewsNation reached out to DHS for comment.