There are several reasons why the Trump administration is making a terrible decision in accepting a luxury jet from Qatar that, according to the president, will be retrofitted to temporarily serve as the airliner on which he travels.
There are, of course, the constitutional and ethical concerns.
The Constitution forbids a U.S. government official from receiving any gift — much less a $400 million one — from a foreign government without congressional approval. That prohibition is designed to ward off the possibility of bribery or untoward foreign influence on government decisions.
The Trump administration says it gets around having to ask for Congress’ permission by having the gift go to the Defense Department, rather than to the president personally. Since, however, the president himself says he expects the jet to wind up in his presidential library once he finishes his time in the White House, it appears that the Defense Department is providing cover for a transaction that violates at least the spirit of the constitutional ban.
As far as the ethics, both President Trump and his attorney general, Pam Bondi, are financially conflicted when it comes to Qatar and its government. The Trump family’s business organization announced earlier this year a deal to develop a multibillion-dollar luxury golf resort in that oil-rich nation. Bondi, who reportedly signed off on the legality of the jet donation, was a well-heeled lobbyist for Qatar from 2019 to 2020. Her lobbying firm was paid $115,000 a month by the Qatar government during the arrangement, according to the good government group Common Cause.
Even if those constitutional and ethical concerns are brushed aside, what falls apart is Trump’s claim that accepting the gift is a no-brainer, as it will save the country a ton of money.
The reality is just the opposite: This gift will end up costing the U.S. taxpayers as much as $1 billion extra.
That’s what it will take to strip down the plane and be sure it is not rigged with listening devices by the Qatari government and then retrofit the aircraft to meet the strict and extensive security requirements of any Air Force One jet. It’s likely to be not just an expensive investment, but a short-term one — just the type of wasteful spending that Trump claims he wants to root out of Washington.
The government already has a $3.9 billion contract with Boeing to provide two new jets to become the next generation of Air Force One. Although the manufacturer is years behind schedule in supplying the jets, Boeing is eating all of the cost overruns. Boeing is eager to cut its losses, recently estimated by the company to be $2.5 billion. It now says that it could have the planes ready as soon as 2027. As federal contracts tend to go, it would not be surprising if the retrofit of the Qatari jet is not completed before Boeing has its two new Air Force One planes finished.
The president has been long frustrated with Boeing’s delays. As a person who is fixated on appearances, he doesn’t like flying around in 35-year-old planes while the leaders of some other nations are traveling in newer, better-looking aircraft.
But is it worth a billion dollars of public funds, and at a minimum the appearance of impropriety, to make Trump feel better about his airborne surroundings for the final stretch of his presidency?
It is not.
