Sources familiar with the situation told ABC News on Sunday that the Trump administration is poised to accept a Boeing 747-8 luxury jet as a donation from the royal family of Qatar.
According to ABC News:
The plane will initially be transferred to the United States Air Force which will modify the 13-year-old aircraft to meet the U.S. military specifications required for any aircraft used to transport the president of the United States, multiple sources familiar with the arrangement said.The plane will then be transferred to the Trump Presidential Library Foundation no later than Jan. 1, 2029, and any costs related to the transfer will be paid for by the U.S. Air Force, the sources told ABC News.
The aircraft is reportedly so lavishly appointed that it has been dubbed the “palace in the sky.” Valued at an estimated $400 million, it would rank among the most significant gifts ever received by the U.S. from a foreign nation. News of its potential acceptance has sparked outrage on the Left and raised ethics concerns even among some Trump supporters.
President Trump took aim at his critics in a Sunday night post on Truth Social.
In response to Trump’s post, The Daily Wire’s Ryan Saavedra wrote: “No one gives a $400 million gift and expects nothing in return.” I think he speaks for many Americans.
Although this story is new to most of us, Trump toured the jet in February when it was parked at Palm Beach International Airport. At that time, The New York Times reported that the aircraft was considered a possible replacement for Air Force One.
And there is a reason for that. It turns out that delays on the government’s contract with Boeing for two new jets to replace the aging Air Force One airplanes have become so excessive that Trump said he would look to refurbish a plane. According to the Times, Boeing is at least three years behind schedule on delivering the jets.
ABC reported that the current Air Force One jets have been in service since 1990. In 2018, the Air Force contracted with Boeing to produce two new aircraft, but last year Boeing announced they wouldn’t be ready until 2029. In response, Trump tasked Elon Musk with helping to accelerate the timeline, after which Boeing agreed to deliver the planes by 2027.
Perhaps wary of Boeing’s assurances, Trump has been exploring alternative options.
ABC reached out to the Qatari government for a comment. Ali Al-Ansari, Qatar’s media attaché to the U.S., informed the outlet that “the matter was still under discussion.” Al-Ansari said:
Reports that a jet is being gifted by Qatar to the United States government during the upcoming visit of President Trump are inaccurate. The possible transfer of an aircraft for temporary use as Air Force One is currently under consideration between Qatar’s Ministry of Defense and the U.S. Department of Defense, but the matter remains under review by the respective legal departments, and no decision has been made.
Sources told ABC that Trump administration attorneys led by White House counsel David Warrington and Attorney General Pam Bondi have completed an analysis of the arrangement. They concluded that “it is legal for the Department of Defense to accept the aircraft as a gift and later turn it over to the Trump library, and that it does not violate laws against bribery or the Constitution’s prohibition (the emoluments clause) of any U.S. government official accepting gifts ‘from any King, Prince, or foreign State.'”
So, the bottom line is that while Qatar is donating the aircraft, it does not constitute a gift “to Trump.”
In a statement to ABC, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, said: “Any gift given by a foreign government is always accepted in full compliance with all applicable laws. President Trump’s administration is committed to full transparency.”
That still leaves the optics of the U.S. receiving such a valuable gift from a foreign government, particularly from a Middle Eastern country with terrorist ties.
Citing the Emoluments Clause, which Trump’s legal team has already examined and dismissed, Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA) pounced on the report.
Predictably, the highly partisan and often truth-challenged Jamie Raskin (D-MD) insisted the administration must receive permission from Congress before accepting the gift.
The Times reached out to government watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington for a comment on Sunday. This group sued Trump during his first term “over what it described as violations of the Emoluments Clause.” Spokesman Jordan Libowitz issued a statement saying this raises “a range of ethical issues far beyond whether it violated the Constitution, in part because he may continue using it after leaving office.”
It’s hard to see it as a coincidence when Trump’s company just announced a new golf resort in Qatar, reportedly partnered with a company owned by the country’s government, and will soon be meeting with senior Qatari officials in a Middle East trip that also features meetings with heads of state of two other countries he has property developments in.At this point, it’s impossible to tell the difference between decisions being made by the White House for the good of the country and for the good of the Trump Organization.
I agree that the optics of accepting such a valuable gift from Qatar are not ideal. However, given the repeated delays in the government’s contract with Boeing, his administration’s transparency regarding the issue, assurances from the White House counsel and the attorney general of the gift’s legality, and the fact that Democrats will criticize Trump no matter what he does, it strikes me as a pragmatic solution.
Elizabeth writes commentary for Legal Insurrection and The Washington Examiner. She is an academy fellow at The Heritage Foundation. Please follow Elizabeth on LinkedIn or X.
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