00:00Since last fall, the Department of Homeland Security has allocated $464 million for a no-bid contract to purchase 10
00:07pre-owned airplanes from a company in northern Virginia.
00:10Although this was a significant expenditure, the department claimed it was unable to explore other bids due to the urgent
00:16need for these planes for deportation flights.
00:18However, since their acquisition, the department has hardly utilized this new fleet for deportations or any other purposes.
00:25Among the aircraft, three are luxury business jets.
00:30Just a few months after their purchase, the department attempted to loan or lease two of them to other agencies,
00:35including one for FBI Director Kash Patel, as revealed in a letter sent to the department on Wednesday by leading
00:42Democrats on the Senate Appropriations Committee.
00:44The remaining seven are older Boeing 737 passenger jets, which have been left idle at an airport in Lake Charles
00:51for extended periods.
00:52An internal government document obtained by the New York Times indicated that the agency lacked the necessary staff to operate
00:58these planes.
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