WASHINGTON — The Department of Homeland Security has purchased two Gulfstream private jets for Secretary Kristi Noem and other top department officials at a cost of $172 million, according to documents reviewed by The New York Times.

The jets, which a department official said were needed for safety, are the latest expenditures on behalf of Noem to draw scrutiny from Democrats and other critics who have noted her lavish spending on living and other expenses during her time in public life.

The Coast Guard put in its budget earlier this year a request to purchase a new long-range Gulfstream V jet, estimated to cost $50 million, to replace an aging one used by Noem.

“The avionics are increasingly obsolete, the communications are increasingly unreliable, and it’s in need of recapitalization,

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