A US Coast Guard pilot lost his job after leaving the United States Secretary of Homeland Security, Kirstin Noem, ‘s blank onboard a Boeing 737 MAX aircraft. Corey Lewandowski, who unofficially acts as chief of staff for Neom, fired the pilot but was then forced to rehire them after realizing they needed someone to fly them home.

As suggested by the Wall Street Journal, this continued act of chaos with department works has persisted since the current President Donald Trump took office last year. Lewandowski is long suggested to have had an affair with Neom. Simple Flying reached out to the DHS; however did not immediately receive a response by the time this article was published.

All Over A Lost Blanket

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During an official trip, Neom was required to change aircraft due to the initial airplane experiencing a mechanical issue. During the transit between the two planes, it appears a blanket was forgotten about and missed. Following this misplacement, the pilot was then fired during the flight by Lewandowski and was asked to find a commercial flight home.

Shortly after arriving at their destination, Lewandowski then reinstated the pilot after realising they had no other pilot qualified to fly them home. It remains unclear where exactly the flight was destined for. The Department of Homeland Security has not denied the claims; however stressed that Noem expects:

Allegedly A Result Of In-Fighting

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Suggested by the New York Post, there have been accounts of vicious infighting between Neom and Lewandowski, which have recently seen President Trump alluding to them both being on ‘thin ice’ following recent events, including those surrounding the deportation activist events in Minneapolis.

Lewandowski is technically classed as a special government employee and should be capped at a total of 130 working days per year, but has avoided suspicion by stretching this timeframe by avoiding logged arrivals at headquarters. This usually includes Noem’s motorcade and bypasses without any badge checks.

The US White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt has proclaimed that the president has full confidence in Noem, with Leavitt saying in a statement that “President Trump and Secretary Noem have ensured the most secure border in our nation’s history, and our homeland is undoubtedly safer today than it was when the president took office last year.”

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Flying A Private Boeing 737 MAX

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The aircraft to which this blanket incident surrounds is a Boeing 737 MAX jet that has a luxurious onboard cabin that is used for travel around the United States. The aircraft includes a private cabin in the rear of the aircraft, and is currently leased by the Department of Homeland Security. The DHS has historically leased the aircraft; however is in the process of purchasing this outright for the sum of $70 million. This specific aircraft is earmarked to be used for high-profile deportations and cabinet-level travel requirements.

Previously, the DHS has used other planes through the United States Coast Guard, specifically for this and other agencies’ secretaries. Should the purchase go through for the 737 MAX, this would be double the usual cost of the other commercial planes, of which the department is in the process of buying. The DHS would rarely use military aircraft for deportations, as there is a preference for chartered aircraft.

As reported by Simple Flying in November last year, the DHS has been looking at different ways to expand current deportation flights, with a suggestion that Noem had approved the purchase of ten Spirit Airlines aircraft. This idea was made before the realisation that Spirit does not actually own any aircraft, and these were all leased. Noem and Lewandowski had attempted to purchase ‘ten Boeing 737’ from Spirit, which was impossible as the airline’s fleet consisted of all Airbus aircraft, and Florida based ultra-low-cost-carrier has never flown such jets.