At the very least one Democrat on the Home Appropriations Committee needs to know why her subcommittee is being requested to approve funding for a brand new jet for use by Division of Homeland Safety Secretary Kristi Noem.
“My committee just received a last-minute addition to the Coast Guard’s spend plan: $50 million for a new Gulfstream 5 jet for DHS Secretary Kristi Noem’s personal use,” Illinois Rep. Lauren Underwood stated Wednesday. “She already has a Gulfstream 5, by the way, but she wants a new one paid for with your taxpayer dollars.”
“This is a matter of safety,” McLaughlin stated Wednesday evening. “Much like the Coast Guard’s ships that are well beyond their service life and safe operational usage, Coast Guard’s aircraft are too.”
However the timing of Noem’s request wasn’t misplaced on California Rep. Ted Lieu, who joked about President Trump saying this week that he’d be a idiot to not settle for a $400 million luxurious jet being gifted to him by the federal government of Qatar.
“Would a foreign country like to give a gift of a $50 million luxury private jet to Trump’s DHS Secretary?” Lieu requested on X. “Asking for a friend.”
Trump has taken warmth from Democrats and Republicans alike for his eagerness to simply accept an plane that would symbolize moral, optical and safety issues for the Workplace of the Presidency.
“I could be a stupid person and say: ‘We don’t want a free plane,’” Trump instructed reporters Monday earlier than leaving on a three-day journey to the Center East. “I would never be one to turn down that kind of an offer.”
