Qatar’s gift of a luxury Boeing 747 to the US Department of Defense sparks a major controversy

Trump administration is preparing to accept a luxury jet from the Qatari royal family, which will be upgraded and used as Air Force One during his second term.

An announcement is expected within days, as Trump begins his first major foreign trip on Monday, which includes a visit to Doha.

Given the enormous value of the Boeing 747-8, this move is unprecedented and raises fundamental ethical and legal questions.

A Qatari official said the aircraft was gifted by the Qatari Ministry of Defense to the Pentagon, describing it as a government-to-government deal, not a personal one.

The Pentagon will then upgrade the aircraft for the president’s use with additional security features and modifications.

Trump and his aides inspected the plane earlier this year at Palm Beach International Airport, and it’s expected to be in service within two years.

After his tour, Trump bragged to those around him about the luxury of the plane.

This comes after the US President became deeply frustrated with the delay in the arrival of the new aircraft to be used as Air Force One.

He had at one-point tasked billionaire businessman Elon Musk with helping expedite the process.

Regarding the controversy that accompanied the news, Trump defended his plans to accept a new presidential jet as a gift, despite strict rules governing gifts to US presidents.

ABC News, which was the first media outlet to report the news, suggested the Boeing 747-8 jumbo jet was the most valuable gift ever received by the US government, describing it as a “flying palace”.

The controversy surrounding the plane and Trump’s boast that it was free comes amid questions the US president faces about potential conflicts of interest with his family’s businesses and abuse of his office.

In a social media post late Sunday that didn’t mention Qatar, Trump launched a sharp attack, claiming the plane was a temporary “gift” to the Department of Defense and would replace a four-decade-old aircraft.

Trump, said the process was transparent, directing criticism at Democrats who want to spend money on a new presidential plane unnecessarily.

Qatar quickly downplayed the uproar caused by the report, saying the description of the plane as a gift was inaccurate.

According to Ali al Ansari, the media attaché at the State of Qatar Embassy in Washington, said, “The potential transfer of the aircraft for temporary use as Air Force One is currently under consideration between the Qatari Ministry of Defense and the US Department of Defense,” stressing that no decision has been made yet.

Under the Emoluments Clause, the US Constitution prohibits government officials from accepting gifts “from any king, prince, or foreign state”.

But Trump is seeking to circumvent the law by handing the plane over to his presidential library after leaving office.

The plan will be announced alongside Trump’s visit to three Gulf countries this week, including Qatar.

Accepting the gift raised ethical questions from both the Republican and Democratic parties, as it appeared to violate existing laws to prevent government corruption.

Trump’s far-right ally Laura Loomer said accepting the Qatari plane would be a stain on the administration.

“We cannot accept a $400 million ‘gift’ from jihadists in uniform,” she wrote on X, adding that “the Qataris are funding the same Iranian agents in Hamas and Hezbollah who killed American soldiers”.

However, the White House and the Justice Department consider the gift legal because it wasn’t given in exchange for any specific service or action, meaning it’s not a bribe, sources told ABC News.

The move is also not unconstitutional, they said, because the US Air Force will receive it first before delivering it to the Trump Presidential Library, and therefore it won’t be given to just anyone.

For its part, the Democratic National Committee considered the move evidence that Trump was exploiting the White House for personal financial gain.

“While working families prepare to cope with rising costs and empty shelves, Trump remains focused on enriching himself and his billionaire backers,” the committee said in an email to Democratic supporters.

Several Democrats denounced the plan, with Senator Chris Murphy calling it “completely illegal,” while Representative Kelly Morrison considered such a gift to amount to “blatant corruption” and “bribery,” both unethical and unconstitutional.

The US President has long been dissatisfied with the two Boeing 747-200B presidential aircraft, which have undergone significant modifications.

He announced earlier this year that his administration was “looking for alternatives” to Boeing after it delayed the delivery of two new aircraft.

In 2018, the US aviation giant agreed to deliver two 747-8 presidential jets by the end of 2024 for $3.9 billion.

However, the bankruptcy of a contractor and production disruptions due to the Covid-19 pandemic forced Boeing to postpone deliveries to 2027 and 2028.

Although the aircraft being displayed by the Qataris is said to be more than ten years old, the new Boeing 747-8 is worth around $400 million, according to experts.

The aircraft also needs to be equipped with extensive communications and security upgrades before it can become a presidential aircraft.