NYT: Noem Approved Over $300 Million in Plane Purchases From Donor's Firm on Her Last Day
The five aircraft, including a $108 million luxury 737, cost far more than the seller paid. Noem calls the report 'libelous' and wants a retraction; The Times is standing by it.
The Department of Homeland Security agreed to buy five airplanes from a political donor's company at steep markups on Kristi Noem's final day as secretary, The New York Times reported, a deal she is now publicly attacking the newspaper over.
According to the Times, DHS amended a contract with Daedalus Aviation Corporation on March 24, the day Noem left the department, to cover the purchase of a Boeing 737 converted into a private jet and four other aircraft. Her successor, Markwayne Mullin, had been confirmed by the Senate 54-45 the previous week.
The headline aircraft is the 737, fitted with a stand-up bar, two bedrooms, marble showers and a table covered in manta ray skin. DHS agreed to pay $108 million for it. The Times reported that Daedalus had bought the plane only months earlier for less than $90 million. DHS also agreed to pay about $106 million for two Gulfstream jets that Daedalus had acquired for roughly $83 million, and $45 million apiece for two 17-year-old Boeing 737 passenger planes. Several aviation experts told the Times that price was millions of dollars above the typical market value of jets that age.
Daedalus's chairman is William Walters. He gave $10,000 in 2024 to American Resolve, a political action committee that existed to support Noem. The Times said Walters claimed he was unaware of the PAC's ties to her at the time. The company had never previously held a government contract.
Noem responded on social media, calling the reporting "factually incorrect" and "libelous" and demanding a retraction. She argued that describing Walters as a "donor" was "materially misleading" and said clarifications had been given to the reporters. Her statement did not dispute the prices, the markups or the timing of the contract change.
The Times has not backed down. In a statement posted by its communications team, the paper said it stands by its characterization of the donor and his firm. It said its article makes clear that DHS bought five airplanes from Daedalus at a substantial markup, in a deal approved during Noem's tenure.
The report raises questions about how DHS spent money in Noem's final days, as the department was working through a 38-day shutdown. The Times' reporting does not say what DHS intends to do with the planes, and the department's current leadership has not said whether the contract could be unwound. The story rests on contract documents and interviews that the Times described, and the prices cited come from those documents.
