The secretary of the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Kristi Noem, reportedly authorized the purchase of Spirit Airlines jets before discovering the airline didn’t actually own the planes – and that the aircraft lacked engines.

The bizarre anecdote was contained in a Wall Street Journal report released on Friday, which recounted how Noem and Corey Lewandowski – who managed Donald Trump’s first winning presidential campaign – had recently arranged to buy 10 Boeing 737 aircraft from Spirit Airlines. People familiar with the situation told the paper that the two intended to use the jets to expand deportation flights – and for personal travel.

Those sources also claimed Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials had cautioned them that buying planes would be far more expensive than simply expanding existing flight contracts.

Complicating matters further, Spirit, which filed for bankruptcy protection for the second time, in August, did not own the jets and their engines would have had to be bought separately. The plan has since been paused, according to the Journal.

Meanwhile, Democrats on the House appropriations committee said in October that during this fall’s record-long government shutdown, the DHS had already acquired two Gulfstream jets for $200m.

“It has come to our attention that, in the midst of a government shutdown, the United States Coast Guard entered into a sole source contract with Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation to procure two new G700 luxury jets to support travel for you and the deputy secretary, at a cost to the taxpayer of $200m,” Democratic representatives Rosa DeLauro and Lauren Underwood wrote in a letter to the DHS.

A DHS spokesperson told the Journal that parts of its reporting about the plane purchases were inaccurate but declined to provide additional clarification.

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

In September, the Guardian reported that the Trump administration was moving immigrants detained as part of its deportation agenda in ways that violated their constitutionally protected rights, often by plane.

Leaked data reviewed from charter airline Global Crossing (GlobalX) detailed the journeys of tens of thousands of immigrants who have been shuttled around the country before deportation.