U.S. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has accepted a luxury Boeing 747 aircraft from Qatar for U.S. President Donald Trump to use as Air Force One, the Pentagon said Wednesday, despite ongoing questions about the ethics and legality of taking the expensive gift from a foreign nation.
The U.S. Defence Department will “work to ensure proper security measures” on the aircraft to make it safe for use by the president, Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said. He added that the plane was accepted “in accordance with all federal rules and regulations.”
Trump has defended the gift, which came up during his recent Middle East trip, as a way to save tax dollars.
“Why should our military, and therefore our taxpayers, be forced to pay hundreds of millions of Dollars when they can get it for FREE,” Trump posted on his social media site during the trip.
‘Palace in the sky’
Others, however, have said Trump’s acceptance of an aircraft that has been called a “palace in the sky” is a violation of the U.S. Constitution’s prohibition on foreign gifts. Democrats have been united in outrage, and even some of the Republican president’s allies in Congress have expressed concerns.
“This unprecedented action is a stain on the office of the presidency and cannot go unanswered,” said Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer of New York. “Until Americans get transparency on this shady deal, which apparently includes a corrupt plot for Donald Trump to keep the plane at his library after leaving office, I’ll continue to hold all Department of Justice political nominees.”
The nation of Qatar has offered to gift U.S. President Donald Trump a 747 jet worth roughly $400 million, saying it’s OK because the plane isn’t for him directly. CBC’s Eli Glasner breaks down the problems with accepting a ‘free jet.’
Schumer has introduced legislation that would prohibit any foreign aircraft from being used as Air Force One and forbid use of taxpayer money to modify or restore the aircraft. But on Wednesday, Republican Sen. Roger Marshall of Kansas objected when Schumer asked for a vote, thus blocking it. He did not offer an explanation for his objection.
Critics have noted the need to retrofit the plane to meet security requirements, which would be costly and take time.
“Far from saving money, this unconstitutional action will not only cost our nation its dignity, but it will force taxpayers to waste over one billion in taxpayer dollars to overhaul this particular aircraft when we currently have not one, but two fully operational and fully capable Air Force One aircraft,” said Sen. Tammy Duckworth, of Illinois.
She said during a hearing Tuesday that it is a “dangerous course of action” for the U.S. to accept the aircraft from the Qatari ruling family.
‘Truly outrageous’
It’s not just sitting lawmakers who are critical of the scenario that is unfolding between the U.S. and Qatar.
“The notion that a president of the United States would accept a $400-million 747 from a foreign government, any foreign government … is truly outrageous,” said Susan Rice, who served as national security adviser under Barack Obama, when speaking to The Atlantic’s David Frum about the offer from Qatar.
U.S. Air Force Secretary Troy Meink told senators that Hegseth has ordered the service to start planning how to update the jet to meet needed standards and acknowledged that it will require “significant” modifications.
The air force, in a statement, said it is preparing to award a contract to modify a Boeing 747 aircraft, but that any details are classified.
Trump was asked about the move Wednesday while he was meeting in the Oval Office with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa. “They are giving the United States Air Force a jet,” Trump said, bristling at being questioned about the gift by a reporter.
Trump said it was given “not to me, to the United States Air Force, so they could help us out.”
Ramaphosa, who was sitting next to Trump in the Oval Office and has been working to repair his relationship with the president, said, “I’m sorry I don’t have a plane to give you.”
“If your country was offering the United States Air Force a plane, I would take it,” Trump said.
Trump has presented no national security imperative for a swift upgrade rather than waiting for Boeing to finish a new Air Force One jets that have been in the works for years.
He has tried to tamp down some of the opposition by saying he wouldn’t fly around in the aircraft when his term ends. Instead, he said, the plane would be donated to a future presidential library, similar to how the Boeing 707 used by U.S. president Ronald Reagan was decommissioned and put on display as a museum piece.
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