US Politics
Exclusive: Trump admin seeks new jet to shuttle around Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel
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The FBI is seeking an ultra-long-range business jet to fly agents and other bureau personnel to far-flung global locations for counterterrorism response, “high-risk operations,” and other “sensitive missions,” according to a tranche of federal procurement documents reviewed by The Independent.
Alongside the government’s request for proposals, a related statement of objectives says the aircraft “will also support executive transportation requirements for the FBI Director and the U.S. Attorney General,” namely, Kash Patel and Pam Bondi, who have both faced withering scrutiny in recent weeks over their handling of the fallout from the non-release of the Epstein files. In May, the U.S. Government Accountability Office reportedly initiated an investigation into Patel’s supposedly robust personal use of the FBI’s existing fleet of private jets.
However, a Department of Justice official said on Wednesday that the plan had not been approved by Bondi, who is not in favor of the purchase.
“The FBI has an independent procurement process for the director and their agents,” DOJ spokesman Gates McGavick told The Independent. “Neither the attorney general nor other DOJ leadership knew about this and see no need for its use in Main Justice.”
“Main Justice” is the colloquial name for DOJ headquarters.
The plane will be required to fly at speeds of Mach 0.83 or higher, with Mach 0.85 listed as “preferred.” It must have a minimum range of 7,000 nautical miles, be able to seat at least 12 passengers, three crew, and 1,000 lbs. of cargo, the RFP states.
That means the feds need something along the lines of a Gulfstream G800, which seats 19 and can travel 7,000 nautical miles at Mach 0.90, or a Bombardier Global 8000, which seats 19 and can travel 8,000 nautical miles at Mach 0.94.
The RFP, which was issued July 11, says the bureau’s Critical Incident Response Group will lease the aircraft for an initial one-year period, with the possibility of four one-year extensions, after which the government will have the option to purchase the jet outright. The documents do not explain how the plane will be shared between one of the FBI’s most elite tactical units and two of the administration’s highest-ranking officials.
No prices are included in the solicitation paperwork, but the G800 starts at about $72.5 million, while the base model Global 8000 lists for roughly $78 million. The FBI paid $2.4 million to lease a Gulfstream V for six months in 2016, after a procurement process marked by numerous deficiencies, according to an audit the following year by the DOJ’s Office of the Inspector General.
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Craig Holman, a governmental ethics and campaign finance expert at Washington, D.C. watchdog nonprofit Public Citizen, says the expenditure shows the Trump team going against its relentless claims of “cost-efficiency.”
“For an administration that wants to put on a veneer of cutting waste, fraud and abuse in government spending, it sure doesn’t have any qualms when it comes to lavish spending on expensive new jets and other luxuries for itself,” Holman told The Independent.
This will be the third luxury aircraft so far being budgeted for travel by cabinet officials and the president, according to Holman.
“There is the extravagant Boeing [747] being bought from Qatar for Trump, a Gulfstream IV luxury jet for Homeland Security Director Kristi Noem, and now, an opulent long-range jet for FBI Director Patel and Attorney General Bondi for their traveling comfort. Meanwhile, the administration is slashing spending on health care, education and worker safety for the rest of us.”
Trump has said Qatar is “gifting” the 747 to the Department of Defense for his use as an especially opulent Air Force One, but the Air Force itself pegs the cost of modifying the plane for such use at some $400 million.
An FBI spokesman told The Independent that the new aircraft lease will in fact be more cost-effective.
“The plane in question is for critical functions such as hostage rescue team deployments, international operations, SWAT ops, and other national security related purposes – but the current lease structure is unnecessarily wasteful,” the spokesman said. “As we’ve done with other assets, like moving the headquarters building, the FBI is evaluating available options to better serve the American people at a much lower and more efficient cost to the taxpayer.”
As for the business jet to be split between Bondi, Patel, and the FBI, the successful bidder will deliver the private jet to the bureau’s Aviation Operations Hangar at the Manassas Regional Airport in Manassas, Virginia, by next summer.
“The aircraft shall be fully mission operational and flight-ready, with all required Government-installed modifications (including secure communications suite), no later than June 24, 2026,” the RFP tells prospective sellers.
In addition to hardened comms, the cabin must have two lavatories, one crew rest seat, one galley with microwave, coffee maker, refrigerator, sink and ice and beverage storage, according to the request. The bureau’s “preferred” features include four “cabin zones with solid dividers, and a “dedicated crew rest area with layflat seats/bunk,” it says.
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As far as cosmetics go, the aircraft’s interior components – seating, cabinetry, flooring, lighting – must be in “good condition, with no excessive wear, staining or damage,” the RFP states.
Before delivery, the request says the jet “shall be thoroughly cleaned inside and out,” and exterior paint “shall be free of major defects, corrosion, or significant fading.”
Further, the plane should have less than 2,500 hours of flight time, and be less than five years old. The contractor will be responsible for all scheduled and unscheduled maintenance, to be conducted at FAA-approved facilities, according to the RFP. The FBI will oversee minor routine tasks such as tire and fluid replacement, as well as “minor repairs.”
The flight crews will be provided by the FBI, which will “maintain sole operational control,” the RFP states, adding that the bureau is self-insured up to $5 million for all flight operations.
“In excess of this limit, [the] FBI will seek Congressional appropriations,” the RFP says.
In the six months since President Trump began his second stint in the White House, the administration has, among other things, decimated school lunch programs, thrown millions off of Medicaid, and enacted tax cuts that will boost incomes for the wealthy while raising taxes on working Americans.
