Water is wet, and DHS’s ‘deportation fleet’ boondoggle expands under Markwayne

I will not pretend I was ever expecting the Department of Homeland Security’s looting of the public purse to stop under its new secretary, former “Senate’s Stupidest” Markwayne Mullin. But given the apparent personal ties between the Noem-Lewandowski syndicate and Dr. William A. Walters III – the main grifter behind DHS’s rapid acquisition of airplanes for a supposed ICE deportation fleet – and the negative media attention those planes have gotten, part of me wondered if Mullin, looking for an easy win, would end this particular boondoggle and sell the planes.

READ: Noem’s luxury ‘deportation’ jet is the tip of the ICE-berg

Have you ever said “oh, you sweet summer child“ to yourself? That’s what I’m doing tonight, because the boondoggle not only continues to move forward un Mullin, it is expanding.

Following a tip from the ICE flight tracker who goes by “JJ in DC,” I’ve confirmed that one of Walters’ companies has purchased more planes, apparently for DHS. On April 6 and April 7, Daedalus Aviation acquired two Avelo Airlines’ Boeing 737s with the registration numbers N701VL and N707VL, according to Federal Aviation Administration records.

Also on April 7, both planes flew from New Haven Tweed Airport to Dallas Love Field. The next day, they flew to Lake Charles, LA, where one of the facilities DHS has been using for aircraft modifications is located. One plane remains there, the other has returned to Love Field.

So, to bring us up to speed: Daedalus, a brand-new company run by a MAGA physician with no aviation industry experience, got a $140 million contract to acquire six 737s for DHS’s own deportation fleet. It has now acquired seven, despite a source at Avelo telling me it paid an exorbitant price for the first five. The first five planes have now all been transferred to DHS with new registrations numbers (N474US, N475US, N476US, N477US, and N478US), according to FAA records and reported here for the first time. Plus, Walters’ other companies have acquired three additional planes transferred to DHS – former DHS Secretary Kristi Noem’s notorious “fuckjet” (N471US) and two Gulfstream 650s (N472US and N473US) – under unknown contracts.

TEN PLANES. Ten planes! All apparently purchased with our taxpayer dollars to perform “more efficient” deportation flights, despite no evidence this would actually save money, and now sitting around at various remodeling facilities across the country doing, with a few brief exceptions, absolutely nothing.

Let’s talk for a moment about those few brief exceptions. Noem and her lackeys appear to have used two of the planes, N471US and N472US, for VIP travel a few times over the winter, as other outlets have been reporting since last December. And first lady Melania Trump used N471US on at least two occasions in January and March, according to Mother Jones and confirmed by public flight data.

That all stopped suddenly after the embarrassing congressional hearings that contributed to Noem’s f̶i̶r̶i̶n̶g̶ reassignment. In early March, a few of the planes were used to evacuate Americans from the Middle East, as I previously reported, but other than that, they have been grounded. And DHS said the fuckjet would undergo further remodeling to remove one of the bedrooms and put in more seating for deportees. Flight data showing it going back to the Lake Charles facility appeared to support this.

But last week, DHS under Mullin reversed course, telling the Washington Post the plane would now be reserved for high-level officials, including the first lady. N471US emerged from Lake Charles that same day, going first to Love Field and then Miami, according to flight data.

JJ and I were watching it closely the next day amid reports Melania Trump was about to travel to the White House – she doesn’t live there – to make a mysterious announcement. But as she hit the airwaves to tell the world she’d never had a relationship with Jeffrey Epstein or Ghislaine Maxwell, the plane hadn’t budged.

To add the mystery, it actually did take off the next morning and flew to Pakistan (via Paris), joining the two Air Force jets that took Vice President JD Vance’s delegation to the talks with Iran along the way.

After the talks failed, it returned to Miami, again via Paris.

DHS, ICE, and Daedalus did not respond to a list of emailed questions, including who was onboard and why it didn’t start or finish the trip with the rest of the delegation at Joint Base Andrews. (If you’re thinking it might’ve been Ultimate Florida Man Marco Rubio – nope. The night the talks failed, America’s top diplomat was attending a UFC fight with the president in Miami.)

For what it’s worth, the US was not suffering from a shortage of VIP aircraft for high-level officials before the DHS spending spree. The first lady appears to be flying back to Florida in one of them as I type. If you have any information on who took N471US to Pakistan or when the supposed “deportation fleet” will become operational, you can contact me anonymously on Signal at gbrockell.44.

And as for the brand-new Gulfstream 700 the Coast Guard supposedly desperately needed, frequently spotted landing in Noem’s hometown of Watertown, SD, and featured in her official photographer’s glamour shots? So far, Mullin has had the good sense not to pose with it, but since he assumed office 20 days ago, flight data shows it landing in his hometown of Tulsa six times.

The looting continues apace.

Thank you for reading. I am a former Washington Post staff writer, and as far as I know, I’m the only journalist in America covering ICE flights full time. I am committed to keeping this reporting non-paywalled, but if you are able, please sign up for a paid subscription or send me a one-time tip, so I can continue this important work. –Gillian