The Department of Defense accepted a Qatari-owned Boeing 747 aircraft as a gift that the U.S. military will modify to be the next Air Force One.
Now that the United States has accepted the gift, it will be up to the Pentagon to transform the aircraft into one retrofitted with all of the security and mission-critical measures that aircraft transporting the president must have.
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“The Secretary of Defense has accepted a Boeing 747 from Qatar in accordance with all federal rules and regulations,” Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell told the Washington Examiner. “The Department of Defense will work to ensure proper security measures and functional-mission requirements are considered for an aircraft used to transport the President of the United States.”
The newly confirmed Air Force secretary, Troy Meink, told lawmakers on Tuesday that it will take “significant modifications” to transform “any civilian aircraft” into Air Force One.
“We will make sure that we do what’s necessary to ensure security of the aircraft,” Meink said at the Senate hearing. “I will be quite clear and discuss that with the secretary up to the president, if necessary, if we feel there’s any threats that we are unable to address.”
The Air Force is “preparing to award a contract to modify a Boeing 747 aircraft for executive airlift,” a spokesperson told the Washington Examiner.
TRUMP CELEBRATES BOEING-QATAR DEAL AMID AIR FORCE ONE GIFT CONTROVERSY
The news of this gift developed last week during President Donald Trump’s trip to the Middle East, which included a stop in Qatar. While he was there, Trump brokered a deal with Qatar for it to order 210 American-made Boeing 787 Dreamliner and 777X aircraft.
Democrats and Republicans have raised questions about Trump’s acceptance of the plane, including possible legal, ethical, and espionage concerns.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has announced he will place a hold on the president’s outstanding Justice Department nominations “until the American people learn the truth about this deal.”
“How is this gift not naked corruption? The Attorney General must testify before both the House and Senate to explain why gifting Donald Trump a private jet does not violate the emoluments clause – which requires congressional approval – or any other ethics laws,” Schumer said, speaking on the floor of the Senate last week. “So until the Attorney General explains her blatantly inept decision and we get complete and comprehensive answers to these and other questions, I will place a hold on all political nominees to the Department of Justice.”
The Attorney General, Pam Bondi, whom Schumer wants to testify, is also a former lobbyist for Qatar.
Both Qatar’s prime minister and Trump have downplayed any potential ethical or legal concerns.
CONSERVATIVE MEDIA TARGETED BY QATARI FOREIGN INFLUENCE OPERATIONS
Qatar’s Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani said on Monday he doesn’t know why “this is considered as a bribery,” while Trump has said rejecting their offer would be “stupid.”
Trump, for his part, wrote in a social media post earlier this month: “Only a FOOL would not accept this gift on behalf of our country.”