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The secretary of the US Department of Homeland Security reportedly approved the acquisition of Spirit Airlines jets before discovering that the carrier did not truly possess the aircraft – and that the planes lacked power plants.

This strange anecdote was detailed in a report released on the end of the week, which described how the secretary and a ex- political strategist had recently attempted to purchase 10 Boeing 737 aircraft from Spirit Airlines. Sources with knowledge told the paper that the two planned to use the planes to increase removal flights – and for private use.

Those sources also claimed that Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials had cautioned them that purchasing aircraft would be significantly costlier than simply increasing existing flight contracts.

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Complicating matters further, Spirit, which entered bankruptcy proceedings for the second instance in the summer, did not possess the jets and their engines would have had to be bought separately. The plan has since been halted, according to the report.

Meanwhile, Democratic lawmakers on the House funding panel said in the autumn that during this season's historically lengthy government shutdown, the DHS had already acquired two Gulfstream jets for $200 million.

“It has come to our attention that, in the middle of a federal shutdown, the United States Coast Guard signed a single-source contract with Gulfstream Aerospace to procure two new G700 luxury aircraft to support travel for the secretary and the deputy secretary, at a cost to the public of $200m,” Democratic lawmakers wrote in a letter to the department.

A DHS spokesperson told the Journal that some details in the report about the plane purchases were inaccurate but declined to offer additional clarification.

Congress had earlier approved the so-called “big, beautiful bill” in the summer, which allocates roughly $170 billion for immigration and border security operations, a amount that makes Immigration and Customs Enforcement the most well-funded federal agency in the federal government.

In the autumn, it was reported that the administration was transporting immigrants held as part of its removal program in ways that breached their legal rights, often by plane.

Leaked data examined from charter airline Global Crossing outlined the journeys of thousands of immigrants who have been transported around the country before removal.