WASHINGTON, Oct 18 (Reuters) - Democrats in Congress on

Saturday criticized the Trump administration's decision to buy

two Gulfstream G700 jets for $172 million during the ongoing

government shutdown that are to be used by Homeland Security

Secretary Kristi Noem and other senior leaders.

The U.S. Coast Guard entered into a sole-source contract on

Friday, according to a government contracting website. The jets

will be used for the Coast Guard's Long Range Command Control

fleet of aircraft.

DHS said in a statement late Friday that the new jets are

needed because it currently relies on a Gulfstream CG-101 G550

jet that is over 20 years old, outside of the aircraft's service

life "and well beyond operational usage hours for a corporate

aircraft."

The department said it would not allow the federal shutdown

"to slow down this process" of replacing the jet, but Democrats

want to know where the money is coming from.

"Your first priority should be to organize, train and equip

a Coast Guard that is strong enough to meet today's mission

requirements. Instead, it appears your first priority is your

own comfort," Democratic Representatives Rosa DeLauro and Lauren

Underwood wrote in a letter to Noem.

This week, DHS said it would pay more than 70,000 sworn

police officers, including TSA air marshals but not the 50,000

TSA security personnel that operate airport checkpoints.

Representative Bennie Thompson, the top Democrat on the

Homeland Security Committee, called for a probe of the purchase.

"Such spending is blatantly immoral - and probably illegal - and

Congress must investigate," Thompson said in a statement on

Saturday.

Thompson said Congress rejected a DHS request for a $50

million jet earlier this year. He noted Coast Guard service

members are using some mission-critical aircraft dating back to

the 1980s.

Bloomberg Government first reported the planned purchases

earlier.