On Noem's last morning, DHS buys a $108M jet with a bar and marble showers

On March 24, 2026, Kristi Noem's last day as secretary, the Department of Homeland Security approved a change to its no-bid contract with Daedalus Aviation Corporation to buy five aircraft, according to documents reviewed by The New York Times. Trump had announced on March 5 that he was firing Noem, and her successor, Markwayne Mullin, was due to take over that afternoon. The department agreed to pay $108 million for a Boeing 737 converted into a private jet with a stand-up bar, two bedrooms, marble showers and a table covered in manta ray skin. Its previous owners, Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta, who lead the Station Casinos chain, had listed it for $89 million before Daedalus bought it in September 2025. While DHS was chartering the jet for Noem's travel, Daedalus repainted it in the colors of Trump's redesigned Air Force One. The department also paid $106 million for two 10-year-old Gulfstream jets that Daedalus had bought for about $83 million, and $45 million each for two 17-year-old Boeing 737 airliners. Six aviation experts told the Times that airliners of that age typically sell for $15 million to $30 million; DHS had earlier paid the firm $17.6 million to $35 million each for older ones. Daedalus's chairman, William Walters, a former State Department official, gave $10,000 to Noem's American Resolve political action committee in 2024; the company said he did not know the group was associated with her. After Noem took office, the department awarded more than $900 million in contracts to companies led by Walters, including Salus Worldwide Solutions, which flew Noem and her aides on chartered jets, and the Daedalus contract, under which the company bought planes from others and resold them to the government. In all, DHS bought 10 planes from Daedalus for $464 million; most have sat largely idle for lack of crews. After taking over, Mullin explored backing out of the deal but, according to two White House officials, was told by White House chief of staff Susie Wiles not to block it, and the planes formally changed hands in April. DHS has not released the contract and withheld its justification for the no-bid award, citing national security. Noem, now a State Department special envoy, said the purchase was finalized under Mullin; Mullin's office said the planes were bought before he arrived. Daedalus said its prices reflected a tight market for suitable aircraft.