The Trump administration is ready to accept the super-luxury Boeing 747-8 giant jet from the Qatar royal family to replace Air Force One until the end of Donald Trump's second term, when ownership of the aircraft will be transferred to his Presidential Library Foundation.
Trump is scheduled to visit Qatar next week and is expected to announce the talented aircraft (described as a "Flying Palace" worth $400 million) will be announced. If the deal passes, it will be the most expensive gift a foreign government has provided to the United States. Trump personally visited the plane while at West Palm Beach International Airport in February.
The Emer's provisions of the Constitution violate the Federal Office holder's "acceptance of any king, prince, prince or foreign any present, Scotland, office or ownership of any kind without the approval of Congress". But administrative lawyers gave the gift a green light.
According to sources from ABC News, Attorney General Pam Bondi and White House attorney David Warrington believe this is "permitted by law" because the plane will be transferred to Trump's presidential library in its ownership before he leaves the office. But first, the 13-year-old aircraft will be handed over to the U.S. Air Force, which will cover the cost of updating the aircraft to meet the U.S. military specifications required for transporting the president, and ABC News sources are familiar with the expected arrangements.
Government lawyers at the White House and the Justice Department decided that current lawyers do not belong to bribery because they are not gifted based on formal conduct. Bondy also believes that the gift is not a bribe, because the plane is given to the Air Force and then to Trump's presidential library, not to Trump himself.
One reason Trump hopes for a new aircraft from Qatar is that planning to build a new Air Force aircraft has been delayed and exceeded the $3.9 billion contract budget. Although a contract with Boeing in 2018 during Trump's first administration was signed to build a new fleet, the aircraft is expected to be ready for use until 2029, when Trump's second term expires. Trump asked Elon Musk to help speed up the process.
Although Musk's efforts raised delivery dates by two years, Trump has longed for a luxurious new Air Force sometime this year. Enter the Kathari royal family and its "palace in the sky".
Concerns about accepting the plane from Qatar include accepting such security consequences now - not only will the president be conveyed from foreign governments, but will also host sensitive and confidential dialogue. A talented plane may also not be at the same level as the current Air Force One jet, and short-term lines do not allow performance modifications.
“You can do some paint, you can do some communication upgrades, and I suspect it’s hard to do too much on this schedule.” Wall Street Journal Earlier this month.
Trump appears to be building close ties with the Katari administration and the royal family. Late last month, the Trump Organization announced it had agreed to work with Qatari Diar, a real estate company created by the U.S. sovereign wealth fund, to build a new Middle East golf course in Qatar. The chairman of Qatari Diar is the minister of the Qatari government.