What to Know
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem is probably not having the best week, as she continues to face bipartisan scrutiny and calls for her resignation. She’s appeared before the House Judiciary Committee and the Senate Judiciary Committee, and on Tuesday, March 3, she was confronted about the purchase of a $70-million jet.
A couple of weeks ago, NBC News reported that the luxury jet included a bedroom, several flat-screen TVs, and a bar, among other lavish amenities. Understandably, people would like to know why the Department of Homeland Security needs such a luxurious plane. So, when she was testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Democratic Senator Sheldon Whitehouse held up an image of the fancy bedroom and asked Noem what she knew about it.
Noem seemingly tried to skirt around the topic.
When Whitehouse displayed the photo of the jet’s bedroom, he asked Noem, “Can you explain this?” At first, Noem acted like she didn’t recognize the image. “Sir, I’m looking at a picture of an interior,” she responded. “It looks like a bedroom.”
Whitehouse pressed for more details, asking, “Of an airplane?” Noem confirmed this, saying, “Yes, sir.” Whitehouse then questioned, “You’re not familiar with that?”
Suddenly, Noem acted as if she knew exactly what Whitehouse was referring to, even though she acted like she had no idea moments before. “These photos are not accurate if you’re referring to the airplanes that the Department of Homeland Security has purchased and are purchasing,” she said. “We’re using them for long-range command and control aircraft that is dictated in statute by Congress for the Department of Homeland Security to have a plane—”
Whitehouse interjected with, “You did not use a luxury jet with a bedroom in it?” Noem explained, “We’ve used a 737. I’ve been on it once, but it is being used by other administration officials, and it is used for command and control flights for the department.” She then started to claim that purchasing the aircraft would save taxpayers a lot of money, but Whitehouse interrupted to ask, “Does it have a bedroom in it?”
She claimed that she thinks it’s being “refurbished.”
In answering these questions, Noem reiterated a lot of the claims a spokesperson for DHS made when speaking to NBC News about the luxury jet. Supposedly, the jet is meant to be used for both deportations and travel for Cabinet officials, which the spokesperson said would “clamp down on inefficiencies and save taxpayer dollars.”
🚨BOOOOOM!!! Kristi Noem's job is in JEOPARDY after this. My god…
— CALL TO ACTIVISM (@CalltoActivism) March 3, 2026
WHITEHOUSE: Can you explain this?
NOEM: I'm looking at a picture of an interior; it looks like a bedroom…
WHITEHOUSE: Of an airplane. You're not familiar with that?
NOEM: Ummm… pic.twitter.com/sJzeFK6FaK
However, people have questions. For one, NBC originally reported that the jet can fit 18 passengers max. Meanwhile, deportation flights typically carry 50 to 100 people. A DHS official even told NBC that plans to use the luxury jet for deportations seemed “far-fetched.”
Whitehouse also questioned Noem about this. Noem continued to insist that the jets would be used for deportations. “There are aircraft being purchased that will be utilized for executive air travel and for deportations,” she said.
The next day, Noem was questioned about her alleged affair.
If you haven’t heard, Noem is rumored to be having an affair with advisor Corey Lewandowski. Some people have suggested this is the real reason she has a luxury jet with a bedroom. And on Wednesday, March 4, California Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove asked Noem about it—in an extremely direct way.
“At any time during your tenure as director of the Department of Homeland Security, have you had sexual relations with Corey Lewandowski?” Kamlager-Dove questioned.
Noem dismissed the affair rumors as “tabloid garbage” and acted shocked by the question. “I am shocked that we’re going down and peddling tabloid garbage in this committee today,” she said. “I would tell you is that he is a special government employee who works for the White House. There are thousands of them in the federal government.”
Democrats tried to get Noem to deny that she’s having an affair, but she dismissed the rumors as “garbage” and avoided outright denying them.
