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The head of the United States Department of Homeland Security allegedly approved the purchase of Spirit Airlines jets before discovering that the airline did not truly possess the aircraft – and that the planes lacked engines.

This bizarre incident was contained in a report released on the end of the week, which described how the secretary and a former campaign manager had recently attempted to purchase ten Boeing 737 planes from Spirit Airlines. Sources with knowledge informed the outlet that the two planned to use the planes to increase removal flights – and for personal travel.

Those insiders also stated that Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials had warned 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 own the jets and their engines would have had to be acquired independently. The proposal has since been paused, according to the report.

Meanwhile, Democrats on the House appropriations committee said in the autumn that during this season's record-long government shutdown, the DHS had already acquired two Gulfstream aircraft for $200m.

“It has come to our attention that, in the midst of a federal shutdown, the United States Coast Guard entered into a sole source agreement with Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation to procure two new G700 luxury aircraft to facilitate travel for the secretary and the deputy secretary, at a cost to the public of $200 million,” Democratic representatives wrote in a communication to the department.

A DHS spokesperson told the Journal that some details in the report about the aircraft acquisitions were incorrect but refused to provide further details.

Congress had previously authorized the so-called “big, beautiful bill” in July, which dedicates roughly $170bn for immigration and border security operations, a amount that makes ICE the most heavily funded law enforcement agency in the federal government.

In September, it was revealed that the government was moving individuals held as part of its removal program in ways that violated their legal rights, often by air.

Leaked data reviewed from private airline Global Crossing outlined the travels of tens of thousands of immigrants who have been shuttled around the nation before deportation.