Keep Factually independent
Whether you agree or disagree with our analysis, these conversations matter for democracy. We don't take money from political groups - even a $5 donation helps us keep it that way.
Fact check: During the Biden administration, 2020-2024, what was spent on jets for governors and other top officials
Executive summary
During the 2020–2024 period, the supplied documents contain no direct, verifiable totals for US federal or state spending on jets specifically for governors and other top officials under the Biden administration; the available reporting instead documents a high-profile Department of Homeland Security aircraft purchase announced in 2025. The closest contemporaneous evidence in the provided material concerns a 2025 plan to buy two Gulfstream-class jets for DHS use under Secretary Kristi Noem, which critics characterized as a nearly $172–$200 million procurement and which is not part of the 2020–2024 Biden-administration timeframe [1] [2] [3] [4].
1. What advocates and critics are claiming about luxury jets and timing
Reporting in October 2025 describes a Department of Homeland Security plan to acquire two Gulfstream-class jets, with figures reported between $172 million and roughly $200 million, and framing that purchase as conveying comfort to department leaders rather than operational necessity [1] [2]. Congressional Democrats publicly criticized the timing of the procurement amid a federal shutdown and fiscal debate, arguing the contract prioritized the personal mobility of senior officials over pressing needs; letters from members of Congress were cited as direct pushback on the decision and the judgment of the secretary [3]. These items establish a partisan dispute centered on a late-2025 acquisition, not an aggregate audit of 2020–2024 spending.
2. What the supplied sources actually document and their limitations
All three primary US-focused items in the dataset relate to the same 2025 episode: media accounts noting DHS plans to buy two long-range Gulfstream jets intended for the secretary and other top officials, with multiple outlets reporting the $172–$200 million cost range [1] [4] [2]. None of these materials present compiled figures or audits for the entire 2020–2024 Biden administration period, nor do they enumerate state-level spending on governors’ aircraft. The dataset therefore lacks direct evidence to substantiate any claim about aggregate expenditures on jets for governors or senior officials during 2020–2024.
3. Where the supplied materials diverge and what that implies
The supplied items are consistent on the 2025 DHS procurement but vary in framing and headline language: one frames the contract as a $200 million “luxury” purchase tied to the secretary’s travel, another reports the $172 million contract figure and technical details about range and capacity, and a third emphasizes Congressional Democratic criticism [2] [1] [4]. These differences reflect editorial choices and political framing rather than contradictions about the underlying purchase; all agree the transaction occurred in 2025 and not during the Biden 2020–2024 period, highlighting an evidence gap for the original time-bound claim [3] [1].
4. What the international examples in the packet show and why they don’t answer the question
The packet also includes reporting on Ireland and Australia spending on VIP or chartered jets in 2023–2024 and 2025, with figures such as €1.3 million and A$25 million noted for those national governments’ VIP travel [5] [6] [7]. These items illustrate that governments commonly report and draw scrutiny for VIP aviation costs, but they are not evidence about US federal or state spending during 2020–2024. Their inclusion shows comparative context but cannot substitute for US-specific, time-bound accounting.
5. What is missing if one wants a definitive number for 2020–2024
To produce a verified total for jets acquired or paid for on behalf of governors and top US officials from 2020 through 2024, the necessary materials are absent from the packet: official procurement and budget records, General Services Administration or Department of Defense flight logs, state-level capital budget appropriations for governors’ aircraft, and consolidated audits or Congressional reports covering that period. The supplied sources instead document one later federal procurement and international examples that highlight the commonality of such controversies without answering the original, narrower question [1] [5].
6. How to interpret the supplied 2025 DHS purchase in political context
The 2025 reporting shows a familiar pattern: a high-cost procurement for senior officials’ transport immediately becomes a flashpoint in partisan debate when reported during budget stress or shutdowns, prompting Congressional letters and critical headlines [2] [3]. The packet’s items demonstrate how such procurements are framed as either operationally justified or as emblematic of misplaced priorities; they reveal political narratives rather than a neutral accounting exercise, reinforcing that the supplied evidence cannot be extrapolated backward to quantify 2020–2024 expenditures [3] [1].
7. Bottom line and evidence-based next steps
Based on the provided documents, there is no authoritative figure in the packet for what was spent on jets for governors and other top U.S. officials during 2020–2024; the materials instead document a separate 2025 DHS procurement reported at $172–$200 million and include international VIP-flight examples that are not comparable to U.S. state and federal records [1] [2] [5]. Establishing the requested total would require consulting official US procurement records, state budgets, and audit reports for 2020–2024; those sources are not present in the supplied dataset and therefore no definitive 2020–2024 total can be asserted from these materials.