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The head of the United States Department of Homeland Security reportedly approved the purchase of Spirit Airlines jets before discovering that the carrier did not truly possess the planes – and that the planes were missing power plants.

This strange anecdote was contained in a investigation released on the end of the week, which described how the secretary and a former campaign manager had recently attempted to purchase 10 Boeing 737 aircraft from the airline. People familiar with the situation told the paper that the two planned to use the planes to increase removal flights – and for personal travel.

Those sources also stated that Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents had cautioned them that buying planes would be far more expensive than simply expanding existing flight contracts.

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Making the situation more complex, Spirit, which entered bankruptcy proceedings for the second instance in the summer, did not possess the jets and their engines would have had to be bought separately. The proposal has since been paused, according to the report.

In the interim, Democratic lawmakers on the House funding panel said in the autumn that during this season's record-long government shutdown, the Department of Homeland Security had already purchased two Gulfstream jets for $200 million.

“It has come to our attention that, in the midst of a federal shutdown, the US Coast Guard entered into a single-source agreement with Gulfstream Aerospace to acquire two new G700 luxury jets to support travel for you and the deputy secretary, at a expense to the public of $200 million,” Democratic representatives wrote in a letter to the department.

A DHS spokesperson informed the outlet that some details in the report about the aircraft acquisitions were inaccurate but declined to provide additional clarification.

The legislature had earlier authorized the so-called “major immigration bill” in July, which dedicates roughly $170bn for immigration and border-related operations, a amount that makes ICE the most heavily funded law enforcement agency in the federal government.

In the autumn, it was reported that the administration was transporting individuals held as part of its deportation agenda in ways that breached their legal rights, often by air.

Leaked data reviewed from charter airline GlobalX detailed the travels of thousands of immigrants who have been transported around the nation before removal.