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The head of the US Department of Homeland Security reportedly approved the acquisition of Spirit Airlines jets before learning that the airline did not actually own the planes – and that the aircraft lacked engines.

This bizarre 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 buy 10 Boeing 737 aircraft from Spirit Airlines. Sources with knowledge told the paper that the two planned to use the planes to expand deportation flights – and for personal travel.

Those sources also claimed that ICE agents had cautioned them that buying planes would be far more expensive than simply increasing current charter agreements.

ICE facing fierce backlash after video apparently shows unresponsive individual clutching child during detention.

Complicating matters further, the airline, which entered bankruptcy protection for the second time in the summer, did not possess the jets and their power plants would have had to be acquired separately. The proposal has since been paused, according to the investigation.

In the interim, Democratic lawmakers on the House funding panel said in October that during this fall's historically lengthy federal shutdown, the Department of Homeland Security had already purchased two Gulfstream aircraft for $200 million.

“It has come to our attention that, in the middle of a government shutdown, the US Coast Guard entered into a single-source agreement with Gulfstream Aerospace to procure two new G700 luxury aircraft to facilitate travel for you and the deputy secretary, at a cost to the taxpayer of $200 million,” Democratic representatives wrote in a communication to the DHS.

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

Congress had previously approved the so-called “major immigration bill” in the summer, which allocates roughly $170 billion for immigration-related and border security operations, a amount that makes ICE the most well-funded federal agency in the federal government.

In September, it was revealed that the administration was transporting individuals detained as part of its deportation agenda in ways that breached their constitutionally protected rights, often by air.

Leaked data examined from private airline GlobalX outlined the travels of tens of thousands of individuals who have been shuttled around the country before removal.