ICE Gives No-Bid SUV Contract to Republican Donor with a History of Fraud
The $2.25M award for ICE recruitment vehicles seemed to go around normal contracting procedures.
As ICE expands its operations in Washington, DC, buoyed by new funding from the recently passed “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” Trump associates may already be cashing in. According to a new contracting document, ICE awarded $2.25 million for 25 Chevrolet Tahoe SUVs – about $90,000 per vehicle – to Hendrick Motorsports LLC, owned by prolific Republican donor Joseph Riddick "Rick" Hendrick III. The contract, rather than being competed and awarded to the lowest bidder, or purchased through an existing government program, was awarded under a sole-source contract, because of “unusual and compelling urgency.”
“Urgency is warranted as these vehicles must be deployed to the streets immediately to provide a visible law enforcement presence, support public safety operations, and reinforce recruitment efforts,” reads the contract justification. ICE has demonstrated how it might use the vehicles in a new recruitment video posted on its X account, showing black SUVs and trucks with “DEFEND THE HOMELAND” decals driving around DC, set to a rap soundtrack.
Hendrick, who owns the nation’s largest privately held auto dealerships, has donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to Republican candidates and committees. (He has not given to Donald Trump directly.) His support may have helped sway President Trump in the past, potentially helping to secure a presidential pardon for his nephew and his neighbor on the final day of his first term in 2021. Hendrick’s name is listed as supporting two of Trump’s 73 pardons. His nephew, James Austin Hayes, had been convicted for his involvement in an insider trading ring, and was alleged to have profited $176,000, according to the court records. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to a year of probation in 2014.