By Jessica Wedemeyer
4:52pm PDT, Could 15, 2025
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She’ll have what he is having…
Amid brewing controversy over the $400 million Boeing 747-8 personal jet that Qatar not too long ago gifted Donald Trump, Kristi Noem has expressed her need for a brand new aircraft of her personal.
The Secretary of Homeland Safety is requesting a $50 million Gulfstream. (Although she already has one!)
Preserve studying to see who’s footing the invoice — and who shared their “horror” over the request…
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Based on stories, the U.S. Coast Guard made a last-minute change to its 2025 funds to earmark $50 million for Kristi Noem’s new plane.
Illinois Rep. Lauren Underwood flagged the change throughout the Home Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Safety assembly on Wednesday, Could 14: “I used to be horrified final Friday once we acquired a last-minute addition to your spend plan for Fiscal ’25 — a brand new $50 million Gulfstream V for Secretary Noem’s private journey coming from the Coast Guard funds,” she mentioned, directing her “horror” at Coast Guard Chief Admiral Kevin Lunday.
“She already has a Gulfstream V, by the best way. It is a new one,” the liberal politician added.
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Coast Guard Chief Admiral Kevin Lundy refused to say whether or not the request for a brand new Gulfstream for Kristi Noem got here straight from the Division of Homeland Safety or from some place else within the Trump administration.
“Assembly the wants of our Coast Guard women and men which can be doing frontline operations is my high operational precedence, and it is a high operational precedence of the secretary,” he mentioned.
“She’s been clear with that to me, and I do know she testified to that impact earlier than the subcommittee final week,” he added.
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Coast Guard Chief Admiral Kevin Lundy went on to argue {that a} new Gulfstream for Kristi Noem is a necessity due to the 2 army long-range command and management plane the Coast Guard operates, one is “approaching obsolescence and the tip of its service life.”
“[It] supplies an important service to Coast Guard leaders and to Secretary Noem,” he mentioned. “This plane is critical to offer … safe, dependable, on-demand communications and motion to go ahead, go to our working forces conducting the missions, after which come again right here to Washington to ensure we will work collectively to get them what they want.”
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Illinois Rep. Lauren Underwood famous that Coast Guard Chief Admiral Kevin Lundy did not “reply the query about whether or not he was directed to buy this new Gulfstream V.”
She added of the matter on X, “We needs to be investing in our nationwide safety and enhancing the lives of our Coasties – not losing taxpayer {dollars} on luxurious journey and political stunts.”
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In the meantime, Homeland Safety Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin launched a press release agreeing with Coast Guard Chief Admiral Kevin Lundy that one of many Coast Guard’s two Gulfstreams is greater than 20 years previous and “nicely past operational utilization hours for a company plane.”
“It is a matter of security,” she claimed. “Very like the Coast Guard’s ships which can be nicely past their service life and protected operational utilization, the Coast Guard’s plane are too. This administration is taking motion to revive our Nation’s best maritime Armed Service to a succesful preventing drive.”
The talk over a brand new jet for Kristi Noem could not come at a worse time as politicians on each facet of the aisle have taken subject with Donald Trump’s new personal jet from Qatar.
