Qatar Gifts Trump Luxury Jet: It Will Become New Presidential Air Force One
As it became known ABC News, the Donald Trump administration is preparing to accept a luxury wide-body Boeing 747-8 jet as a gift from the royal family of Qatar. The airliner will become "Air Force One," and after the end of the 47th president's term, the plane will become the property of the Trump Presidential Library Foundation.
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The gift was expected to be announced during Trump's visit to Qatar, his first overseas trip of his second term, according to people familiar with the plans. However, a senior White House official said the gift would not be delivered during the president's visit to Qatar this week.
In a social media post late May 11, Trump confirmed his administration was preparing to accept the plane, calling it a "very public and transparent deal" with the Defense Department.
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Trump previously inspected the jet, which has earned the nickname "the flying palace" due to its luxurious configuration, when it was parked at West Palm Beach International Airport in February.
This highly unusual, even unprecedented, agreement will undoubtedly raise questions about whether it is legal for the current White House administration, and subsequently the Trump Presidential Library Foundation, to accept such a valuable gift from a foreign power.
Anticipating such questions, sources told ABC News that White House and Justice Department lawyers prepared a legal analysis for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. The lawyers concluded that it was legal for the Defense Department to accept the jet as a gift and then donate it to Trump’s presidential library. This, they argued, did not violate bribery laws or the Constitution’s so-called entitlement clause, which prohibits a U.S. official from accepting gifts “from any king, prince, or foreign state.”
Attorney General Pam Bondi and Trump White House chief legal officer David Warrington have concluded it is legal to accept the donation of the jet as long as ownership of it is transferred to Trump's presidential library before his term ends, the sources said.
Bondi prepared a legal opinion last week for the White House legal office after Warrington sought her advice on the legality of the Pentagon accepting such a gift, the sources said.
White House press secretary Caroline Leavitt said: "Any gift from a foreign government is accepted in full compliance with all applicable laws."
"The Trump administration is committed to complete transparency," Leavitt added.
Ali Al-Ansari, a spokesman for Qatar, said the transfer of the plane for "temporary use" as Air Force One was currently being considered by the Qatari Ministry of Defense and the US Department of Defense.
The plane will first be handed over to the U.S. Air Force, which will modify the 13-year-old aircraft to meet military requirements for aircraft designed to transport the U.S. president, according to several sources familiar with the plan.
The aircraft will then be transferred to the Trump Presidential Library Foundation no later than January 1, 2029, with all costs associated with its transfer to be paid by the U.S. Air Force.
Aviation industry experts estimate the cost of the plane Trump will receive is about $400 million, not including the additional communications security equipment the Air Force will have to install to ensure the commander in chief's safe flights.
As previously reported by the Wall Street Journal, aviation company L3Harris has already received an order to upgrade the aircraft to meet the requirements for presidential airliners.
In a social media post, Trump claimed Democrats were insisting the administration pay "MAXIMUM PRICE" for the plane rather than accepting it for free.
Following the ABC News report, Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer said on social media: "Nothing says 'America First' like an Air Force One donated by Qatar. It's not just a bribe - it's premium foreign influence with extra legroom."
Sen. Adam Schiff, a California Democrat, cited the Constitution's anti-title clause: "The corruption is absolutely clear."
Both the White House and the Justice Department concluded that because the gift was not contingent on any official action, it was not a bribe. Bondi's legal opinion, the sources said, said it did not violate the Constitution's prohibition on gifts from foreign governments because the plane was not being given to a private citizen, but to the Air Force and then to the presidential library foundation.
The primary aircraft used in Air Force One's current fleet are two aging Boeing 747-200s that have been in service since 1990. The Air Force's contract with Boeing to replace the planes has been plagued by delays and cost overruns.
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The original contract was signed in 2018. But as of last year, Boeing was projecting that the planes would not be ready until 2029, after Trump's presidency ends.
The president expressed strong frustration with the delays and tasked Elon Musk with working with Boeing and the Air Force to speed up the process. Those efforts have yielded only modest results. Boeing’s latest estimate is for a delivery date of 2027, but Trump has made it clear he wants the plane this year.
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