United States formally accepts luxury jet from Qatar to use as Air Force One

A 13-year-old private Boeing aircraft that President Donald Trump toured recently to check out new hardware and technology features, and highlight the aircraft maker’s delay in delivering updated versions of the Air Force One presidential aircraft, takes off from Palm Beach International Airport in Florida in February. BEN CURTIS/AP FILE

The United States has officially accepted a luxury jet from Qatar to use as Air Force One, according to the Department of Defense.

“The secretary of defense has accepted a Boeing 747 from Qatar in accordance with all federal rules and regulations,” Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell confirmed to multiple outlets on Wednesday.

“The Department of Defense will work to ensure proper security measures and functional-mission requirements are considered for an aircraft used to transport the president of the United States,” Parnell said.

President Donald Trump said “only a fool would not accept” the $400 million luxury Boeing jet from the Qatari government when he faced bipartisan backlash.

“The Boeing 747 is being given to the United States Air Force/Department of Defense, NOT TO ME!” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “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, until such time as our new Boeings, which are very late on delivery, arrive.

“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. This big savings will be spent, instead, to MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”

The jet will require extensive modifications to meet the security and defense standards of Air Force One, potentially costing around $1 billion. Air Force One is outfitted with secure communications and defense systems, including weapons. It also would have to be able to withstand the potential effects of a nuclear blast.

The proposal has been met with skepticism from both sides of the aisle in Congress. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-New York, called it “an issue of outright bribery and a serious issue of national security.”

Sen. Jack Reed, D-RI, ranking member of the Armed Services Committee, and eight other Democratic senators called on the Pentagon inspector general to investigate what they called a “brazen attempt to evade constitutional limitations on the acceptance of personal gifts from foreign governments without congressional approval.”

“The Constitution provides that ‘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,’ ” the senators wrote in a letter on May 13 to the inspector general. “Congress has granted consent in only a narrow set of circumstances under the Foreign Gifts and Decorations Act, and none of these circumstances are applicable here.”

Editor’s note: The National News Desk’s Matt Galka contributed to this article.

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