The core claim holds up as reported: documents described by The New York Times in early October show the Department of Homeland Security bought five planes from Daedalus Aviation, at prices well above what Daedalus had paid, on the morning before Kristi Noem left office. The DHS planes Noem donor story turns on a $10,000 gift from Daedalus’s chairman to a PAC that backed her. Noem calls the report libelous and says the “donor” label misleads, and no official body has found wrongdoing.
Where it stands: As of October 26, no charge, inspector-general finding or court ruling about the planes had been reported. Separately, the Wall Street Journal reported in July that the DHS inspector general was weighing a criminal referral concerning Noem adviser Corey Lewandowski’s role in contracts; a spokesperson for Lewandowski denied he issued contracts.
The deal sits on our Trump corruption tracker. Below are each side’s statements, then each claim rated against what the reporting and records show.
What Noem, Mullin, DHS and Daedalus said
Noem, now a State Department special envoy, “declined to answer specific questions about the sale or the prices that her agency had paid,” HuffPost reported, relaying the Times. On X, she called the article “factually incorrect” and “libelous” and wrote: “I write to formally request the retraction entirely or explicit correction of the article.” She argued that calling Walters a donor “conveys a false implication of a direct financial relationship obviously intended to influence official action,” and added, per NewsNation: “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 Times answered publicly: “We stand by the characterization of the political donor and his firm,” adding, “As our article makes clear, the Department of Homeland Security bought five airplanes from Daedalus at a substantial markup, a deal approved during Ms. Noem’s tenure.”
Daedalus “told the paper that Walters did not know the PAC was associated with Noem at the time,” HuffPost reported. Under current Secretary Markwayne Mullin, DHS told the Times: “The contract for Daedalus was made and approved by department leadership before Secretary Mullin was sworn in,” Mediaite reported, and said it reserves “the right to adjust course in an environment with evolving requirements and demands.” CNN reported that Mullin’s camp says “these planes were purchased prior to Secretary Mullin’s arrival at DHS,” while Noem’s side says “the purchase was finalized under Secretary Mullin’s leadership.”
The DHS planes Noem donor claims, one by one
| Claim | Verdict | What the record shows |
|---|---|---|
| DHS bought five planes from Daedalus | Accurate as reported | Times documents, relayed by NewsNation, HuffPost and IBTimes; DHS has not denied the purchase |
| The prices were marked up | Accurate as reported | The 737 cost DHS $108 million; Daedalus had paid under $90 million. Gulfstreams: $106 million vs about $83 million |
| The seller is a Noem donor | Disputed | Walters gave $10,000 to a PAC that supported Noem; Noem calls the label misleading, the Times stands by it |
| It happened on Noem’s last day | Accurate as reported | The Times says the purchase came the morning before she left; her camp says it was finalized under Mullin |
| The fleet sits unused | Partly accurate | The Times found the planes largely idle; DHS cites maintenance and plans to fly deportations |
| Noem personally profited | Not supported by the record | No outlet reports any payment to Noem from the sale |
| Prosecutors are investigating the plane deal | Not supported by the record | No charges reported; a separate inspector-general review concerns Lewandowski’s role in DHS contracts, per the WSJ, and he denies issuing contracts |
The prices, and how outlets describe them
According to NewsNation’s summary of the Times, DHS “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.” Timing is part of the story: the Times placed the sale on Noem’s final morning in the job. Trump had fired her in early March, but she stayed on until Mullin arrived on March 24.
On the markup, HuffPost relayed: “The Times obtained documents showing Daedalus had bought the plane just months earlier for less than $90 million.” For the Gulfstreams, “Daedalus had spent only about $83 million to buy them, according to the documents.” IBTimes put that gap at “roughly $23 million.” Experts quoted by the Times called the price of the two older 737s “millions of dollars higher than the typical market value for jets of that age.”
One wording difference is worth flagging. Sens. Peter Welch, Richard Blumenthal and Adam Schiff, in an Oct. 9 letter, described the 737 as “previously appearing on the market with an asking price below $90 million,” not as a purchase price. The comparison points the same way, but the senators’ phrasing is narrower than some coverage. Our tracker’s money figure simply adds the five reported prices; no outlet has published its own total for the five-plane sale.
The donation behind the “donor” label
The donation itself is not in dispute. “Campaign finance records show Walters gave $10,000 (£7,500) to American Resolve, a political committee connected to Noem, in October 2024,” IBTimes reported. NewsNation described American Resolve as a committee “which supported Noem.” What is disputed is the meaning: Daedalus says Walters did not know of the link, Noem says the term implies a direct relationship that did not exist, and the Times says the PAC “existed to support” her.
Nothing in the coverage shows money flowing from the sale to Noem herself, so any suggestion that she personally profited has no support in the record.
Who signed off: the Noem-Mullin dispute
The five planes completed a larger order. Mediaite, relaying an August Times investigation, described a “$464 million DHS deal with Virginia-based Daedalus Aviation Corporation for 10 jets.” IBTimes reported that DHS justified skipping open bidding by citing “unusual and compelling urgency,” and that “Records show the contract grew by $303 million (£226 million) on the day Mullin took office.”
That record is the center of the blame fight. Two White House officials told the Times that Mullin weighed backing out “but feared a significant financial penalty,” HuffPost reported. Both camps’ statements are quoted above; neither has produced documents publicly to settle it.
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On use, NewsNation reported that “without crews to fly them, the planes have gone largely unused.” In August, DHS said the aircraft were undergoing “maintenance checks,” and IBTimes reported that DHS “intends to start using them for deportation flights within weeks, hiring outside contractors to operate the 737s.” IBTimes also noted that officials under Noem had projected savings of “$279 million (£208 million),” which it said “the department has never substantiated.”
The plane deal’s sister firm, Salus Worldwide Solutions, has its own fact check of the Salus and Daedalus contracts.
Oversight, and what has not happened
Sens. Patty Murray and Chris Murphy wrote to DHS in August: “The American people deserve a full accounting of this gross misuse of their tax dollars.” In October, Welch, Blumenthal and Schiff wrote that the deal “appears to illustrate a brazen giveaway by Secretary Noem to her political ally, William Walters.” Those are the senators’ characterizations, not findings.
A separate review touches the department’s contracting more broadly. Investigators “led by DHS Inspector General Joseph Cuffari are considering a criminal referral to the Justice Department,” the Wall Street Journal reported in July, as relayed by Raw Story, adding that a referral was not imminent. A Lewandowski spokesperson denied that he issued contracts and said he had not been contacted about any investigation. No source reviewed ties that review specifically to the aircraft purchases.
As of October 26, no charge, inspector-general finding or court ruling about the planes had been reported.
Frequently Asked Questions
Did Kristi Noem buy planes from a donor?
The New York Times reported that DHS bought five planes from Daedalus Aviation, whose chairman William Walters gave $10,000 to a PAC that supported Noem. Noem disputes the donor label and calls the report libelous; the Times stands by it.
How much did DHS pay Daedalus for the planes?
Per documents described by the Times, DHS paid $108 million for a converted Boeing 737, $106 million for two Gulfstreams and $45 million each for two older 737s. The broader Daedalus contract was reported at $464 million for 10 jets.
Was the DHS plane purchase marked up?
The Times reported that Daedalus bought the 737 for less than $90 million and the Gulfstreams for about $83 million months earlier. Senators describe the 737 figure as an asking price below $90 million.
Who approved the Daedalus jet deal, Noem or Mullin?
Each camp blames the other. DHS under Mullin says the contract was approved before he was sworn in; Noem says the purchase was finalized under his leadership. IBTimes reported the contract grew on the day Mullin took office.
Is anyone being prosecuted over the DHS planes?
No. As of October 26 no charges had been reported. The Wall Street Journal reported in July that the DHS inspector general was weighing a criminal referral about Corey Lewandowski’s role in contracts; his spokesperson denied he issued contracts, and no source ties that review to the planes.
Sources
- DHS bought 5 planes from Kristi Noem donor for inflated prices: Report — NewsNation (relaying The New York Times), October 2026
- Kristi Noem Spent Her Last Day At DHS Buying 5 Extremely Overpriced Jets From A Donor: Report — HuffPost (relaying The New York Times), October 2026
- Corruption allegations swarm Trump’s orbit ahead of midterms — CNN, October 21, 2026
- Markwayne Mullin and Kristi Noem Are Pointing Fingers at Each Other Over ‘Barely-Used’ $500M Jet Fleet — Mediaite (relaying The New York Times), August 2026
- Kristi Noem DHS Bought Five Jets From a Political Donor at a Steep Markup Before She Left Office — International Business Times UK (relaying The New York Times), October 2026
- Welch, Blumenthal, Schiff Continue Probe into DHS Misuse of Taxpayer Dollars, Demand Answers from DHS Over New Reporting on Noem’s Luxury Jet Purchases — Office of U.S. Sen. Peter Welch, October 9, 2026
- Corey Lewandowski in the crosshairs as DHS watchdog weighs criminal referral: WSJ — Raw Story (relaying The Wall Street Journal), July 11, 2026
This article is news reporting and analysis based on the public sources listed above, as they stood on the dates shown. Where officials, lawmakers or analysts disagree, including on whether an action is lawful, their positions are attributed to them; Donald Trump Class Action is not a court and nothing here is legal advice. Facts in a developing story can change.