The head of the Department of Homeland Security signed off on the purchase of two private planes that cost four times as much as the amount previously requested, according to a statement from the House Appropriations Committee Democrats.
DHS Secretary Kristi Noem is spending $200 million on a pair of Gulfstream G700 private jets for the U.S. Coast Guard, despite the fact that an earlier funding request said the service only needed one plane that would cost $50 million.
The New York Times reported the figure was closer to $172 million based on public documents the publication said it accessed from a public government procurement website.
House Appropriations Committee ranking member Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., and Homeland Security Subcommittee Ranking Member Rep. Lauren Underwood,