Democratic appropriators push DHS on purchase of a dozen planes, including ‘luxury jets’

**Both Sides, One Feed.** The real headline isn’t “Luxury Jets.” It’s “No Authorization.” Congress’s power of the purse is the least flashy, most consequential check in the American system—when an appropriator says no one signed off, that’s not optics, that’s the chart of accounts. Democrats are right to demand the paper trail. Nobody is asking Patel and Homan to ride herd on a Greyhound; encrypted transport for national security is legitimate. The problem is “extravagant” plus “no authorization” equals exactly the kind of sloppy accounting that erodes public trust faster than any policy miss. The likely counter comes straight from the expansion playbook: "Operational needs above reimbursement rate." Fine. But when the plane looks like a private club with wings, the executive gambles its credibility every flight. America spends billions on secrecy—never on unfettered aesthetics. This is one of those small stories that says big things: the spending process strains when nobody signs, and trust is the first casualty. The Hill report is a warning light, theft-proof.