Democratic Senators Question Idle DHS Deportation Jets
Is this a catastrophic waste of taxpayer money or just a bureaucratic accountability failure?
Above: DHS Security Markwayne Mullin in Washington, D.C. on July 17. Image credit: Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
The Spin
Democratic narrative
Spending $464 million on planes that just sit parked in Louisiana — with no crews to fly them — is a staggering failure of basic governance. That money could have funded food, housing or health care for millions of Americans instead of collecting dust on a tarmac. The Trump administration continues to be known for rushing the spending and skipping the plan.
Republican narrative
There are some conflicting statements between Noem and Mullin, but regardless of who was responsible for this order, the fact remains that DHS has the right to manage its aircraft as it sees fit. The no-bid contracts were a matter of national security and plans for putting these planes to use are similarly a matter of the department's plans to defend the country.
