Senate Republicans have some questions — and reservations — about President Donald Trump accepting a mega-luxury jet from Qatar.
It’s not unusual for gifts to be exchanged between nations, but those gifts are often limited to things like paintings or ceremonial pieces. ABC News first reported over the weekend that Qatar offered Trump a luxury Boeing 747-8 jet as a gift, which would reportedly be used as the new Air Force One and then donated to the Trump presidential library after he leaves office. Trump confirmed the plan on Truth Social and to reporters on Monday.
“We need to look at the constitutionality of it,” Sen. Shelley Moore Capito told reporters on Monday.
She added: “I’d be checking for bugs.”
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A number of Republicans dodged on whether there was an actual plan just yet. Majority Leader John Thune told reporters Monday that he didn’t know for sure whether the plane had actually been offered.
“I’m sure if and when we have more information, we’ll sort all that out,” he said. “But at this point, it’s obviously still a hypothetical.”
Trump defended the gift Monday, telling reporters in the Oval Office, “They’re giving us a free jet. I could say, ‘No, no, no, don’t give us, I want to pay you a billion or 400 million,’ or whatever it is. Or I could say, ‘Thank you very much.’”
Sen. John Cornyn also said he’d have to wait and see what the details are.
“I don’t know how that’s all going to sort out,” he told reporters. “I’m going to wait and see how it settles.”
The decked-out plane — reportedly valued at $400 million — raises obvious questions about what sort of influence it could hold over its recipient.
In an interview with Fox News on Monday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the legal details of accepting the plane are still being worked out, but “any donation to this government is always done in full compliance with the law.”
Other Senate Republicans offered some defense of Trump.
Sen. Mike Rounds said he’s “sure that they’re going to have to follow the law, and I think they will.” When asked if he’s concerned about the sheer size of the gift, noting the $400 million valuation, he simply added: “It’s a big airplane.”
Sen. Thom Tillis said he has no concerns if the jet is gifted to the U.S. government rather than to Trump specifically, but emphasized he wants to make sure it’s built well.
“I definitely want to put it through its paces several times before it becomes the primary means of transport for the president,” he told reporters Monday.
And Democrats, meanwhile, jumped to call out the gift as a breach of the Constitution. A clause in Article I prohibits certain federal officers from accepting “any present, Emolument, Office, or Title” from a king, prince, or foreign state without consent of Congress.
“I don’t know who needs to hear this, but NO, Donald Trump cannot accept a $400 million flying palace from the royal family of Qatar,” Sen. Bernie Sanders posted on X. “Not only is this farcically corrupt, it is blatantly unconstitutional.
“This administration is setting new world records when it comes to corruption and bribery,” Sen. Dick Durbin told reporters Monday. “There’s just no way around. I mean, there are meme coins and all the rest of their plots to make themselves even wealthier, but gifts from an oil sheikh worth hundreds of millions of dollars? It’s embarrassing.”
Democratic Rep. Ritchie Torres has already called for an ethics investigation into the gift. Sens. Chris Murphy, Chris Coons, Brian Schatz and Cory Booker said in a joint statement this week they would “ask the Senate to vote to reiterate a basic principle: no one should use public service for personal gain through foreign gifts.”
What’s more, Attorney General Pam Bondi worked extensively as a lobbyist on behalf of Qatar before assuming her current role. Durbin, who is the Senate Judiciary Committee’s ranking member and raised concerns about Bondi’s Qatar ties during her confirmation hearing, said Monday it was “no surprise” that she wasn’t contesting the legality of the plane gift.
“She’s done little or nothing to remind this president of his ethical obligations under the law and beyond,” Durbin said.
Trump has been trying to get new Air Force One planes since his first term. The two jets used interchangeably to fly the president are upward of 30 years old. Trump negotiated and then signed an agreement with Boeing in 2018 to get new planes built, but the planes have yet to be delivered.
A press release at the time said “the U.S. Air Force awarded a contract to The Boeing Company to design, modify, test, certify and deliver two presidential, mission-ready aircraft by 2024.”
Sen. Chuck Grassley told NOTUS he’d have to read up more on the ethics of this particular gift. But as for the general revamp of the president’s aerial transport, he wasn’t convinced.
“I’m reading it isn’t even ready yet,” Grassley said. “May not be ready until 2030. So what in the heck is wrong?”
“I’ve ridden on Air Force One,” he added. “I don’t even know why we need a new one.”
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Ursula Perano is a reporter at NOTUS. Helen Huiskes is a NOTUS reporter and an Allbritton Journalism Institute fellow.
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