BURSTPresident Trump’s planned acceptance of a $400 million jet from the Qatari government raises a series of ethical and national security concerns, as the commander in chief turns to the polarizing but immensely wealthy Gulf state to leapfrog existing plans for constructing a new Air Force One.
The government has already contracted with Boeing to deliver a replacement for the aging presidential plane — a project not expected to be completed until as early as 2027.
But the Qatari gift would speed that timeline — likely at the expense of security guidelines required by the U.S. Trump has said he plans to keep the plane once he leaves office through his presidential library, which adds to the ethical questions.
The Constitution makes clear that accepting a gift from an overseas power requires the blessing of Congress — a provision Trump violated in his first term through numerous foreign entanglements.
“He needs the consent of Congress, and if he can't get consent of Congress, then he can't accept it,” said Richard Painter, who served as the chief White House ethics lawyer under President George W. Bush.
“Congress could have some questions about what's going on here, legitimate questions, about, why are we receiving this plane?” Painter said.
He added that taxpayers aren’t saving money since Boeing already has a contract to build a new Air Force One.
“It’s just Trump wants the plane sooner,” Painter said.
“It's humiliating — humiliating for the United States to have Qatar provide the plane for the president of the United States.”
National security hawks in Washington often criticize U.S. ties with Qatar, pointing to allegations it supports terrorist groups such as Al Qaeda, the Taliban and the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood. Qatar is also criticized for using its state-funded media, Al Jazeera, for inciting violence against the U.S. and Israel.
But the U.S. is a longtime ally with Qatar, which hosts the American military at the Al Udeid Air Base. It served as a major transit hub for evacuees from Afghanistan during the U.S. withdrawal. Former President Biden upgraded the country to a major non-NATO ally in 2022.
And Qatar’s support of Hamas has made it the primary mediator and main interlocutor between the terrorist group and Israel during the Gaza war. This has allowed for direct U.S. negotiations that resulted in the release earlier this week of an American Israeli hostage.
That partnership is proving fruitful for Trump in new ways as Qatar proves a lucrative location for the Trump family business. The Trump Organization in April struck a deal to build a luxury golf resort in Qatar.
Several administration officials also have ties to Qatar. Attorney General Pam Bondi lobbied for the country while FBI Director Kash Patel did consulting work for its government. Trump’s close friend, business partner and peace envoy, Steve Witkoff, was reportedly involved in negotiating the 2023 Qatari purchase of an embattled luxury hotel in Manhattan to avoid seizure from the Department of Justice.
Congressional Democrats have sounded the alarm over the deal, and some Republicans have also expressed skepticism.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said he would place a hold on Justice Department nominees over the jet deal.
Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) announced Tuesday he would introduce a resolution of disapproval condemning Trump’s acceptance of the plane. A privileged resolution could force a vote on the Senate floor and could even gain some Republican support.
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) on Tuesday said the luxury aircraft posed serious espionage and surveillance concerns, a sentiment shared by a few Republicans, including loyal Trump supporters.
It’s not clear if lawmakers can force a vote on accepting the emolument.
Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, previously issued a report finding that Trump accepted some $8 million in payments from foreign governments during his first term in office.
“You got to go to Congress in order to accept a gift from a foreign government, which is what this is. And obviously there's all kinds of national security complications,” Raskin said on CNN’s "Erin Burnett OutFront" on Monday.
“Donald Trump doesn't know a lot about the founders, but the founders knew a lot about him and his type, and they were afraid that you’d get someone as president who'd be willing, essentially, to sell the interests of the country out to specific foreign governments who would do business with him. And so there are a million foreign policy questions where we could be compromised by this.”
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, sent a letter to the White House on Tuesday, asking Trump’s attorneys to provide “a clear and detailed explanation of how this reported gift does not violate the Foreign Emoluments Clause” as well as details of the arrangement with Qatar.
Donald Sherman, chief counsel at Citizens for Ethics and Responsibility in Washington, said acceptance of the plane was neither acceptable nor advisable.
“Certainly a president getting a gift of this kind — if it is a gift — from a foreign nation, raises pretty significant questions about loyalty,” he said. “And whether that gift potentially undermines a government official’s loyalty to the United States government, as opposed to their foreign benefactor.”
“Even if it was permissible under the law, why would we accept a gift of this nature for a task as sensitive as the transport of our commander in chief?”
Trump has defended his interest in the plane, saying he’d be a “stupid person” to say no to a free plane and that it would be turned over to his presidential library once leaving office.
Some GOP voices have defended Trump’s interest in the plane.
Sen. Jim Risch (R-Idaho), chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and a member of the Senate Select Committee on Ethics, argued that the plane is a gift for the U.S. and also suggested its transfer to a nonprofit organization, such as the president’s library, eased any concerns.
“It’s either the U.S. or a 501(c)(3),” he told The Hill, and then suggested the plane’s donation was on par with American military assistance to partners and allies — an action that national security and foreign policy experts explain as a benefit to America’s security.
“We give things to other countries all the time. … Billions, billions! Guns, ammunition, airplanes, boats,” Risch argued.
But others said Trump’s plan to keep the jet once leaving office — even if through his library — is another major ethical issue.
Daniel Shapiro, who most recently served as deputy assistant secretary of Defense for the Middle East in the Biden administration, said that it's conceivable for the plane to be transferred to the Pentagon without need for payment, or maybe a nominal fee.
But in this case, discussions around Trump being allowed to use it after leaving office make it “hopelessly corrupt.”
Painter said because acceptance of the plane amounts to an “illegal emolument,” a future administration could try to confiscate the plane.
He also raised the prospect that the plane would not end up merely being a gift but would be given with the expectation of something in exchange.
“If there's any quid pro quo for this airplane, and it's part of the negotiation of a deal, and Trump's getting the plane himself, as opposed to the United States government ... then we have a personal benefit to him, and I think the bribery statute would be at play,” Painter said.