Ruben Gallego Demands Answer From Kristi Noem Over Request For $50 Million Gulfstream Jet

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At today's Senate Homeland Security Committee hearing, Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) questioned DHS Sec. Kristi Noem.

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00:00Mr. Gallego. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Thank you, Secretary Noem, for

00:06attendance today. Let me start by also agreeing with Senator Moreno on some

00:10things, and I think it is positive the Trump administration has provided

00:13stronger border security to keep illegal border crossings as close to zero as

00:17possible. We definitely have seen that in Arizona. You know, my concern is that it's

00:21not sustainable. It's expensive. That's why I recently released a common sense

00:25border security that would make it sustainable and would actually deliver

00:28long-term solutions. But let me get to my first question. Your department is

00:32overspending right now. It's on track to run out of money again by mid-July to

00:37support a mass deportation campaign that can't be afforded. At the same time, though,

00:41you recently requested a $50 million allotment for a private Gulfstream jet.

00:46That's $50 million of taxpayer money to subsidize some of your national tours

00:51that you've been going on. Meanwhile, Republicans are about to kick another 13

00:55million people off Medicaid to fund taxes for the rich on the backs of

00:58some working-class Americans. So how can you justify spending millions,

01:02$50 million, on a jet while your department is definitely overspending and

01:07Republicans in Congress are about to strip off the health care from millions of

01:10Americans? Well, Senator, thank you for the question. We are spending our dollars

01:15appropriately and will be on budget. When you're referenced to the airframe that

01:19was the requested dollars were put in for, that's for the Coast Guard. It's to

01:24replace an existing jet that is over 20 years old and is beyond its usable hours.

01:29And the Coast Guard for many, many years has been neglected and has many airframe

01:35that have been grounded because they can't even be maintained anymore. The

01:37suppliers that give us parts and repairs and maintenance for them have said that

01:41they'll no longer support that kind of a mission. We have cutters that haven't

01:45been completed, that haven't been deployed out across the world. And then we also,

01:49beyond that, are asking for a request to build out the number of Coast Guard

01:54members that we need in place. We're asking for 15,000 more to complete the missions that are going forward.

01:58Yeah, but that's not- I don't think you don't have to problem that. Are you going to have access to that

02:00$50 million Gulfstream jet that the Coast Guard is going to supply? The Coast Guard will

02:04use that jet exactly how it uses the jets that it has today, exactly in the same

02:09manner that it uses the ones that it has in place today. So would you consistently be using it to travel?

02:13I don't know if I would use that one or if I would use the other one. I have no idea. But I do spend

02:18time out there with our components making sure that they are, know that they have a

02:23secretary that's engaged with them, that's visiting with them, seeing what their needs are. No, sir,

02:28they're not photos. They've meant the world to the individuals at the Department of Homeland Security.

02:31I've seen some of them. They have meant the world to our ICE agents, our border agents.

02:35When they ask me to be out there with them so they know what their lives are like.

02:39Talking to some law enforcement, besides those under DHS, we've also seen some law enforcement

02:44that have been pulled away from investigations such as child porn, sex trafficking. We've had some

02:49agents pulled in that were doing investigations on bank fraud that are now, you know, provisional

02:54ICE agents. And I think creating and making them do this type of work is also making us more

03:02and more dangerous since they're not actually doing this long-term investigation. On the

03:06other hand, I have talked to some border chiefs and sheriffs repeatedly and they've been highlighting

03:12the danger associated with cartels targeting teenagers and border communities through social

03:17media apps and recruiting them to participate in smuggling operations. And one of the bills

03:21I introduced with several colleagues here actually is the Combating Cartels on Social Media Act,

03:26which will help DHS counter this threat. Arizona communities cannot wait for the legislative process

03:31to play out on this. What is DHS doing to solve this problem and help keep American children

03:37and communities safe from cartel criminal activity and recruitment too? Well, that is the problem

03:44that we have with the longer that they're here, the more established they become and the more they

03:47recruit individuals who may live in this country, U.S. citizens or even our kids to be a part of

03:52their operations. Some of them are actually on the other side too. It's both sides. What do you mean on their side?

03:57Some of the cartels are using social media on, let's say, Mexico or wherever. Yes, definitely they are.

04:01So it's back and forth. Yes, they definitely are. But they also are infiltrating our country

04:05still by recruiting our children to be a part of their networks. Yes, that's the problem.

04:08Yeah. So we're working with not just the experts that we have within CBP and ICE, but also using our

04:14other components to address some of the sophistication that we've seen in these apps as far as CISA and

04:20partnerships that they may have with private industry that can give us insight in what we can do to deploy our own

04:27counter-terrorist activities and applications to those systems, what we can do to make sure

04:32that we're stopping their ability to communicate with our children and bringing awareness. The

04:36Department of Homeland Security has programs in different areas such as the Know to Protect and

04:42the other programs you may be familiar with. Have you been able to work directly with the social

04:45media companies, though, not just through the legislative process? We have had conversations with the

04:48social media companies. Because by the time we get around to do it, we're losing more and more

04:53people. So having a very direct conversation and a concentrated effort to actually have outcomes

04:58is going to be quicker because they have the option to do it. We don't have to come in and do it.

05:02They just choose not to because they'd rather make more money than anything else.

05:06Well, that may be, but I found them very willing to come to the table. I've had myself spent dozens

05:12of hours with them and my team has spent hundreds of hours visiting with them on what we can do to be much

05:18more proactive. So they've got some solutions that we can pursue. We'll be coming to you with some

05:23of those ideas, but I think it's important that we use their knowledge of this way of communication

05:29and recruitment to help protect our children. Senator Ernst. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Secretary.

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