{"id":295963,"date":"2025-05-26T12:00:26","date_gmt":"2025-05-26T11:00:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/?p=295963"},"modified":"2025-05-24T05:45:47","modified_gmt":"2025-05-24T04:45:47","slug":"us-defense-department-accepts-boeing-747-from-qatar-for-trumps-use","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/2025\/05\/us-defense-department-accepts-boeing-747-from-qatar-for-trumps-use\/","title":{"rendered":"US Defense Department Accepts Boeing 747 from Qatar for Trump\u2019s Use"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The Boeing 747-8 from Qatar at Palm Beach International Airport in Florida after Trump took a tour of the plane in February.\u00a0 Photo: Al Drago\/The New York Times<\/p><\/div>\n

21 May 2025\u00a0<\/em>–\u00a0Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has accepted a luxury Boeing 747 jet from Qatar<\/a><\/span> for President Donald Trump to use as Air Force One, the Pentagon said today, despite ongoing questions about the ethics and legality of taking the expensive gift from a foreign nation.<\/p>\n

The Defense Department will \u201cwork to ensure proper security measures\u201d on the plane to make it safe for use by the president, Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said. He added that the plane was accepted \u201cin accordance with all federal rules and regulations.\u201d<\/p>\n

Trump has defended the gift<\/a><\/span>, which came up during his recent Middle East trip, as a way to save tax dollars.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy should our military, and therefore our taxpayers, be forced to pay hundreds of millions of Dollars when they can get it for FREE,\u201d Trump posted on his social media site<\/a><\/span> during the trip.<\/p>\n

Others, however, have said Trump\u2019s acceptance of an aircraft that has been called a \u201cpalace in the sky\u201d is a violation of the Constitution\u2019s prohibition on foreign gifts<\/a><\/span>. Democrats have been united in outrage, and even some of the Republican president\u2019s GOP allies in Congress have expressed concerns.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis unprecedented action is a stain on the office of the presidency and cannot go unanswered,\u201d said Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer of New York. \u201cUntil 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\u2019ll continue to hold all Department of Justice political nominees.\u201d<\/p>\n

Schumer has introduced legislation<\/a><\/span> 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.<\/p>\n

Critics also have noted the need to retrofit the plane to meet security requirements, which would be costly and take time.<\/p>\n

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