This week, President Donald Trump announced plans for the Department of Defense to accept a gift of a $400 million luxury jet from the Qatari royal family to be remodeled into a new Air Force One, a position he has defended despite constitutional, ethical and national security concerns raised on both sides of the aisle.
“The Boeing 747 is being given to the United States Air Force/Department of Defense, NOT TO ME!” Trump posted to Truth Social on May 13. “It is a gift from a Nation, Qatar, that we have successfully defended for many years. It will be used by our Government as a temporary Air Force One. Why should our military, and therefore our taxpayers, be forced to pay hundreds of millions of Dollars when they can get it for FREE from a country that wants to reward us for a job well done.”
Trump’s plans prompted quick backlash across the political spectrum and raised more concerns of foreign influence on this administration.
Experts and Democratic lawmakers have expressed concern that the move violates the Foreign Emoluments Clause of the Constitution, which states that “No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States: And 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.”
“Trump is literally trying to fly around on a plane from a foreign government while serving as President,” Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D–Texas, posted to X. “That’s a violation of the Constitution. The Emoluments Clause wasn’t a suggestion. It’s the LAW.”
Robert Weissman, co-president of Public Citizen, a nonprofit advocacy organization, called the move “blatantly unconstitutional” and a “textbook violation of the emoluments clause” in a statement released on Sunday. “The concern with foreign gifts is that they can sway a president’s policy and predilections – and there’s little doubt that Qatar wants to gift Trump a ‘palace in the sky’ for exactly that reason.”
Rep. Ritchie Torres, D–N.Y., is calling for an ethics probe into the Qatari gift and wrote a letter expressing “alarm” to the Government Accountability Office on Sunday. Torres has also cited national security concerns regarding the source of the jet.
“Just as troubling as the gift itself is the source of the gift, Qatar, a state sponsor of terrorism,” Torres told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer. “[Qatar] has a long and ugly history of financing a barbaric terrorist organization, Hamas, which has on its hands the blood of Americans. It’s a cruel irony that both Air Force One and Hamas are going to have something in common – paid for by Qatar.”
Many Senate Republicans, including loyal Trump allies, have shared similar reservations and are concerned about how this gift might impact Trump’s safety.
“Everybody needs to know that Air Force One is not like every other Boeing,” said Sen. Thom Tillis, R–N.C. “It’s going to have to be put through a lot of paces and probably every square inch analyzed before I think the president should consider his primary means of transportation.”
Sen. Rick Scott, R–Fla., told reporters that Qatar is “not a great ally,” sharing concerns over the country’s ties to Hamas, a U.S. designated foreign terrorist organization. “What I’m worried about is the safety of the president of the United States.”
In response to Trump’s plan, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D–N.Y., announced Tuesday on the Senate floor that he will be placing “a hold on all DOJ political nominees until [Congress] gets more answers.” Schumer also called on Attorney General Pam Bondi to testify before both the House and Senate to explain why she “personally signed off on this clearly unethical deal,” according to CNN.
Trump’s plans to accept the luxury jet is another development in the administration’s evolving relationship with Qatar, which has seen a significant shift from Trump’s first term when he called the Arab gulf state a “funder of terrorism at a very high level” in 2017. During his visit to Doha on Wednesday, Trump signed trade and defense deals with the Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, while also announcing a landmark $96 billion deal between Qatar Airways and Boeing, signaling an openness to further diplomatic efforts with the country.