WASHINGTON —A Boeing 747 jet gifted by Qatar to the United States has been quietly accepted by the Pentagon for use in the Air Force One fleet a move that has set off alarm bells across Washington.
The plane, said to be worth around $400 million, was handed over by Qatar’s royal family. Though cleared by the US Department of Defense under existing federal rules, the transfer has drawn criticism even from inside former President Donald Trump’s own political camp.
“The Secretary of Defense has accepted a Boeing 747 from Qatar in accordance with all federal rules and regulations,” Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell confirmed on Wednesday.
The aircraft is not yet ready to fly the President. It must undergo extensive retrofitting to meet security standards including upgrades to withstand nuclear blasts and allow mid-air refueling. Some defence analysts estimate the costs could reach $1 billion.
Mark Cancian, a senior adviser with the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said the necessary upgrades “won’t be cheap and won’t be fast”.
Legal and political pushback
At the heart of the controversy is whether accepting such a gift violates the US Constitution. The Emoluments Clause bars public officials from accepting presents from foreign governments without Congressional approval which this transfer has not received.
Trump, defending the move, said the gift was not for him personally but for the Department of Defense. “They’re giving us a gift,” he said last week. “It would be stupid to turn it down.”
Writing on his Truth Social platform, he insisted the arrangement was above board. “The Defense Department is getting a gift, free of charge, of a 747 aircraft to replace the 40-year-old Air Force One, temporarily, in a very public and transparent transaction.”
The White House has confirmed the plane, once retired from active service, would be transferred to Trump’s presidential library.
Allies uneasy, critics unconvinced
Still, some Republicans aren’t buying it. Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky voiced concerns over potential influence. “I think it’s not worth the appearance of impropriety, whether it’s improper or not,” he told Fox News. “I wonder if our ability to judge [Qatar’s] human rights record will be clouded by the fact of this large gift.”
Senator Ted Cruz of Texas went further, warning that accepting the jet could introduce “significant espionage and surveillance problems”.
The Qatari government insists the exchange is purely official.
“This is a government-to-government transaction,” said Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani. “It has nothing to do with personal relationships neither on the US side, nor the Qatari side.”
Despite those reassurances, the transfer has raised eyebrows for its timing and quiet handling. Trump reportedly inspected the aircraft weeks into his second term during a visit to Palm Beach, near his Mar-a-Lago estate out of public view.
A troubled fleet
The existing Air Force One fleet includes two ageing Boeing 747-200s, in service since 1990. Trump had previously criticised the slow pace of Boeing’s delivery of two newer 747-8 models, negotiated during his first term but now delayed by several years.
Critics argue that accepting a foreign jet even temporarily raises questions about national security and propriety. Supporters argue it’s a practical stopgap in a moment of need.
As the jet awaits modification, so too does the debate over whether the US has drawn the line between diplomacy and undue influence or blurred it.
