U.S. Formally Accepts Qatar’s Luxury Plane Gift

Topline

The United States formally accepted a plane worth hundreds of millions of dollars from Qatar on Wednesday, after the potential of the gift drew bipartisan criticism and concerns.

A Qatari Boeing 747 sits on the tarmac of Palm Beach International airport after US President Donald … More Trump toured the aircraft on Feb. 15.

AFP via Getty Images

Key Facts

Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statement to Forbes that Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth “has accepted a Boeing 747 from Qatar in accordance with all federal rules and regulations.”

Parnell said the Defense Department will “work to ensure proper security measures and functional-mission requirements are considered.”

News that Trump’s Defense Department intended to accept the luxury plane from the Qatari Ministry of Defense first broke on May 11, and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle expressed concerns about the gift’s legality and safety.

Forbes has reached out to the Defense Department for confirmation.

What Has Trump Said About The Gift?

Trump has pushed back on the notion that accepting the plane is illegal or in violation of the Constitution, which states “no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State.” On May 11, he said on Truth Social, “the Defense Department is getting a GIFT, FREE OF CHARGE, of a 747 aircraft to replace the 40 year old Air Force One, temporarily, in a very public and transparent transaction,” and said Democrats were “world class losers” for being bothered by the situation. The day after news of the gift broke, Trump told reporters the gift was a “great gesture” from Qatar, and he would be a “stupid person” to say “I don’t want a free, very expensive airplane.” He confirmed the plane will be donated to his presidential library following its tenure as Air Force One, and Trump said he does not plan to use the plane for personal use after he leaves office.

What Have Republicans Said About The Gift?

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said on May 13, “there are lots of issues around that that I think will attract very serious questions if and when it happens.” Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., said Sunday on ABC he thought the way the administration had set up the arrangement “sent up signals” that concerned lawmakers and noted, “there probably is a perfectly legal way, but right now, it’s raised more questions than I think it’s worth.” Some Republicans have focused on issues of espionage and safety. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, told NBC News the gift is “rife with legal, ethical and practical impediments, including the potential for espionage,” and added, “I’m not sure how we would be able to adequately inspect and outfit it to prevent” spying. Rep. Dusty Johnson, R-S.D., said on May 14 that while the current Air Force One is “not sufficient,” he sees national security concerns and financial concerns with retrofitting the Qatari plane to be the new Air Force One. Sen. Todd Young, R-Ind., told The Wall Street Journal on Tuesday he has concerns “whenever you accept a gift from a foreign country—even those that we perceive to be the closest of allies—whether or not that plane might have any listening devices in it.”

Key Background

Trump toured a plane similar to the Boeing 747-8—which is believed to be worth about $400 million—in February in Florida. At the time, his spokesperson Steven Cheung told CNN he was touring the plane “to check out the new hardware/technology.” Boeing agreed in 2015 to produce the same model of plane for Air Force One, but it has pushed back the delivery date of the new planes, frustrating Trump, who said in February “there’s no excuse” for the plane production to be taking so long. Cheung said the tour “highlights the project’s failure to deliver a new Air Force One on time as promised, as they are already 5 years late.”

Tangent

On Monday, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., introduced a bill seeking to prevent Trump from using the Qatar plane for Air Force One. The bill—which is unlikely to go anywhere in the Republican-controlled Congress—would “prohibit any foreign aircraft from being used as Air Force One” and ban the Defense Department “from using funds to procure or modify foreign aircraft for presidential flights.” In a statement provided to Forbes, Schumer said, “Not only would it take billions of taxpayer dollars to even attempt to retrofit and secure this plane, but there’s absolutely no amount of modifications that can guarantee it will be secure.”