DHS's $464 million no-bid aircraft purchase from donor-linked Daedalus Aviation, including five planes bought hours before Noem left (2025-2026)

Case

DHS paid Daedalus Aviation, a Virginia firm chaired by donor William Walters, about $464 million for ten used aircraft under a no-bid contract justified as urgent for deportation flights. The New York Times reported on Oct. 4, 2026 that five of the planes were bought in the last hours of Kristi Noem's tenure as secretary at a substantial markup, including $108 million for a luxury 737 that Daedalus had bought months earlier for under $90 million. Most of the fleet has sat idle. Noem demands a retraction and disputes the "donor" label; she and DHS under Markwayne Mullin point at each other over who approved the deal.

The Oct. 4, 2026 report: five planes bought in Noem's last hours
The New York Times reported on Oct. 4, 2026 that in the last hours of Kristi Noem's tenure as homeland security secretary, DHS bought five airplanes from Daedalus Aviation Corporation at a substantial markup. Times reporter Nicholas Nehamas summarized it as the agency buying five planes from a donor at a big markup hours before Noem left, planes meant to fly deportees that have largely sat idle.
DHS agreed to pay $108 million for a Boeing 737 converted into a luxury private jet, with a stand-up bar, two bedrooms, marble showers and a table covered in manta ray skin. Daedalus had bought the same plane months earlier for less than $90 million.
DHS also bought two smaller Gulfstream luxury jets for $106 million, which Daedalus had bought for $83 million, and two nearly 20-year-old Boeing 737 passenger planes for $45 million each, a price aviation experts told the Times was far above market value.
Aircraft-market expert Richard Aboulafia told the Times the pricing did not resemble any aspect of an airline marketplace. Raw Story's summary of the Times report says Daedalus could net as much as $100 million in profit.
According to the Times, Noem's successor Markwayne Mullin explored backing out of the airplane deal and consulted White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, who shared his concerns about the financial consequences. The purchase went ahead. Noem, now a State Department special envoy, declined to answer the Times' specific questions about the sale or the prices.

The seller and the donation
Daedalus is chaired by William Walters, who in 2024 gave $10,000 to American Resolve, a political action committee created to support Noem. Daedalus told the Times that Walters did not know the group was associated with Noem; Mediaite notes that an archived copy of the PAC's homepage shows it promoting only Noem.
The contribution reported is to a PAC created to support Noem, not a donation to Noem directly.
Daedalus, an Arlington, Va. company hired to find the planes, had not previously held a federal contract. It declined to say what each of the ten planes cost or what its profit margin was for acting, in effect, as a broker.
Daedalus was formed in 2024, and its leaders are linked to Salus Worldwide Solutions, which holds a separate DHS contract that is under legal challenge.
Mediaite's summary of the Times report says Noem was fired in March over immigration tactics and questions about her agency's awarding of contracts, and that more than $900 million of those contracts went to companies led by Walters.

The fleet: a no-bid purchase, then idle planes
The Times reported on Aug. 13, 2026 that DHS paid $464 million for ten used planes under a no-bid contract, first awarded in late November. Three are luxury jets and seven are older Boeing 737 passenger jets.
DHS sidestepped the usual competition requirements by invoking an exemption for cases of "unusual and compelling urgency," saying the planes were needed urgently for deportation flights. A Times analysis found DHS has used that exemption to justify more than $29 billion in spending across about 500 contracts in Trump's second term.
The seven 737s have been parked for months at an airport in Lake Charles, Louisiana, and an internal government document said the agency lacked enough staff to operate them. DHS said the idle planes were undergoing maintenance and that two would begin deportation flights later in August.
DHS later sought to loan or lease two of the luxury jets to other agencies, including one for FBI Director Kash Patel, according to a letter from Sens. Patty Murray and Chris Murphy.
ICE has long chartered planes from private companies for deportation flights. When the purchase was announced, DHS said owning planes would use more efficient flight patterns and save $279 million. A separate $140 million contract for six 737s with Daedalus was reported at that stage.
Feb. 28, 2026: Axios reported that Noem's plan to use border funds for an almost $300 million luxury jet fleet horrified top Trump officials. Two Gulfstream G700 jets bought in October were initially paid for out of accounts meant for maritime border security, new C-130 aircraft and Coast Guard fleet upgrades.

Responses
Noem formally demanded that the Times retract the article or issue an explicit correction, calling it factually incorrect and libelous. She said the label "donor" is misleading and unsupported, and that it falsely implies a direct financial relationship meant to influence official action. Mediaite noted her response did not challenge the reporting on the contract itself.
A Times spokesperson said the paper stands by its characterization of the donor and his firm, and that DHS bought five airplanes from Daedalus at a substantial markup in a deal approved during Noem's tenure.
In the Aug. 13 report, a spokesperson for Noem sought to put responsibility on Mullin, saying the purchase was "finalized" under his leadership.
DHS, in a statement to the Daily Beast last month, said the Daedalus contract was made and approved by department leadership before Mullin was sworn in, and that DHS reserves the right to adjust course as requirements evolve.
Sens. Murray and Murphy asked DHS for the purchase price of each plane and details of how the planes would be used, after DHS officials acknowledged most would not be used for deportations.

Perspectives

Defender — Kristi Noem, former DHS secretary (now State Department special envoy)
The Times' article is factually incorrect and libelous and should be retracted or corrected. Calling Walters a "donor" is misleading and unsupported by the factual record, and it implies a direct financial relationship meant to influence official action; clarifications were given to the reporters. Her office has also said the purchase was finalized under her successor, Markwayne Mullin.

Official position — Department of Homeland Security (under Secretary Markwayne Mullin)
The contract for Daedalus was made and approved by department leadership before Mullin was sworn in, and DHS reserves the right to adjust course as requirements and demands evolve. The department has said the idle 737s were undergoing maintenance checks and that planes would begin deportation flights.

Defender — Daedalus Aviation Corporation
Chairman William Walters did not know the political action committee he gave $10,000 to in 2024 was associated with Noem. Daedalus declined to say what each of the ten planes cost or what its profit margin was.

Expert view — Richard Aboulafia, managing director, AeroDynamic Advisory (aircraft market analyst)
Speaking to the Times, he said the prices DHS paid did not resemble any aspect of an airline marketplace.

Critic — Sens. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and Chris Murphy (D-Conn.)
After DHS officials acknowledged most of the planes would not be used for deportations, the senators asked for the purchase price of each plane and for details on how they would be used, questioning a no-bid purchase justified as urgent.

Research notes
Sourcing: the Oct. 4, 2026 New York Times article ("Kristi Noem's Agency Gave Her Donor a Lucrative Contract Just Before She Left") is paywalled, so its findings are cited through Mediaite, Raw Story and the Daily Beast. The Aug. 13, 2026 Times report is cited through a licensed syndicated copy (Hawaii Tribune-Herald) and a summary.

What the sources do not establish: that Noem personally steered the purchase to benefit Walters; that the markups reflect improper payments rather than a broker's margin (Daedalus declined to give its costs); or that any investigation, inspector general review or enforcement action is under way. The only donation reported is $10,000 from Walters to a PAC created to support Noem.

Open leads:
- The Times' underlying purchase documents and the price of each of the ten planes (Daedalus declined to say).
- Whether the Murray-Murphy letter was answered, and any inspector general or committee review of the no-bid contract.
- Reconciling the two accounts of timing: the Times says the five planes were bought hours before Noem left, while Noem's spokesperson said in August the purchase was finalized under Mullin.
- The Salus Worldwide connection (same Walters) is covered in the contracts-to-allies entry; the senators' March 30, 2026 letter to Salus is in that entry's sources.
- Whether the aircraft have now flown deportation flights, and how many.

Note
Noem says the Times' "donor" label is misleading and wants a retraction; the Times stands by its characterization. Noem's office and DHS under Mullin disagree over who finalized the purchase.

Sources
[1] Nicholas Nehamas (New York Times) — post on X, Oct. 4, 2026 (screenshot provided by The Author) (https://x.com/nicknehamas/status/2106737021406601231) · 2026-10-04
[2] Mediaite — Kristi Noem Seethes After NY Times Exposé on a Plum Contract DHS Gave to a Political Donor on Her Last Day as Secretary (https://www.mediaite.com/media/news/kristi-noem-seethes-after-ny-times-expose-on-a-plum-contract-dhs-gave-to-a-political-donor-on-her-last-day-as-secretary/) · 2026-10-04
[3] Raw Story — Shock as Kristi Noem's final act as DHS secretary revealed: 'Striking symbol of waste' (https://www.rawstory.com/kristi-noem-2677998213/) · 2026-10-04
[4] The Daily Beast — Kristi Noem's Wild Final Morning in Office Revealed (https://www.thedailybeast.com/kristi-noems-wild-final-morning-in-office-revealed/) · 2026-10-04
[5] New York Times via Hawaii Tribune-Herald — Homeland Security Paid $464 Million for Airplanes. Then It Parked Them. (https://hawaiitribune-herald.com/2026/08/14/nation-world-news/homeland-security-paid-464-million-for-airplanes-then-it-parked-them) · 2026-08-13
[6] Ticklethewire — Homeland Security spent $464 million on planes it barely uses (summary of NYT report) (https://ticklethewire.com/homeland-security-spent-464-million-on-planes-it-barely-uses/) · 2026-08
[7] Axios — Scoop: Noem burning deportation cash on luxury jets (https://axios.com/2026/02/28/noem-luxury-jets-dhs-deportations) · 2026-02-28
[8] AVweb — DHS Plans to Purchase ICE Deportation Aircraft (citing The Washington Post) (https://avweb.com/aviation-news/dhs-plans-boeing-737-purchases-for-ice/) · 2025
[9] Barchart — DHS signs $140 million contract to buy six Boeing 737s for deportation operations (https://www.barchart.com/story/news/36563184/dhs-signs-140-million-contract-to-buy-six-boeing-737s-for-deportation-operations) · 2025

Connections

Shared mechanism — 'Flood the zone': overwhelming courts, opposition, and the public
An urgency exemption used across about 500 DHS contracts let a $464 million aircraft purchase skip normal competition; speed and volume of this kind makes scrutiny of any single award harder.

Same context — Ambassador Kimberly Guilfoyle: reported request that a donor pay her $100,000 American Express bill, and promotion of Aktor Group (Sept.-Oct. 2026)
Both involve Trump donors seeking or receiving benefits from the administration: Deters sought help from DOJ and the IRS, and Daedalus chairman William Walters, a donor, received a no-bid DHS aircraft contract.

Same actor — Contracts and payments to Trump allies: documented cases and the open question of no-work retainers (2025–2026)
William Walters chairs Daedalus and is the Salus Worldwide CEO named in the senators' March 30, 2026 letter, and Daedalus's leaders are linked to Salus. This entry covers the Daedalus aircraft deal; the other covers the senators' allegations about Salus's DHS contract.

Shared mechanism — Contracts and payments to Trump allies: documented cases and the open question of no-work retainers (2025–2026)
Both involve DHS awards where normal competition was skipped or abbreviated: the Daedalus planes were bought no-bid under an "unusual and compelling urgency" exemption, and the Salus contract is alleged to have gone from sole-source to a rushed, abbreviated competition.

Same context — ICE detention funding surge and private contractor revenue (2025-2026)
Both concern the surge in immigration-enforcement funding and where it went: the aircraft were bought with enforcement money for deportation flights, and the detention entry covers the same funding flowing to private contractors.

Related — Trump Accounts: Treasury auto-enrolls 60M+ children; BNY and Robinhood picked after Trump stock purchases (2025-2026)
Both involve a federal contract going to a company with documented ties to Trump donors or accounts; no source shows donations influenced either award.

Related — Waste and vanity spending: documented costs of White House projects, renamings, travel and agency cuts (2025-2026)
The DHS aircraft purchase is a waste item covered in its own entry rather than repeated here.