'Priorities': Kristi Noem ripped for demanding new $50M jet while the Coast Guard struggles

'Bad weapons handling': Senator slams Kristi Noem for cosplaying on Instagram

Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), a retired Marine, criticized DHS Secretary Kristi Noem for "bad weapons handling" while promoting herself in various costumes on social media.During a Tuesday Senate Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs Committee hearing, Gallego noted that Noem's department was overspending on border security."At the same time, though, you recently requested a $50 million allotment for a private Gulfstream jet," he pointed out. "T…

'Priorities': Kristi Noem ripped for demanding new $50M jet while the Coast Guard struggles

In mid-May, Kristi Noem — secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) — requested a $50 million jet for her private use, and the money will come from the federal budget for the U.S. Coast Guard.This request, according to The Intercept's Nick Turse, is setting off alarm bells — as it comes at a time when the Coast Guard badly needs "new ships and planes" and has an "aging air fleet."In an article published on May 20, Turse explain…

The Questionable Case of Kristi Noem's $50 Million Luxury Jet

Kristi Noem, President Donald Trump’s secretary of Homeland Security, came under fire last week for her department’s eleventh-hour request for a new luxury jet: $50 million for a Gulfstream 5 for Noem’s personal use, paid for out of the budget of the Coast Guard. The Department of Homeland Security responded to the denunciations with a stirring defense. “The current CG-101 G550 is over twenty years old, outside of Gulfstream’s service life, and …

The Questionable Case of Kristi Noem's $50 Million Luxury Jet - Taxpayers for Common Sense

“On its face, there’s nothing wrong with DHS buying a replacement for a 20-year-old plane per se, and it makes sense to fund replacements like this through the Coast Guard because they know how to buy planes. But this last-minute spending shift raises questions,” said Steve Ellis, president of the nonpartisan budget watchdog Taxpayers for Common Sense and a former Coast Guard officer. “Was this a planned replacement for an aircraft at the end of…