The Voice News I The United States Department of Defense has officially accepted a luxury Boeing 747 jumbo jet from Qatar to serve as a temporary Air Force One, Pentagon officials confirmed to ABC News on Wednesday.
Sean Parnell, chief Pentagon spokesman, stated, “The secretary of defense has accepted a Boeing 747 from Qatar in accordance with all federal rules and regulations. The Department of Defense will work to ensure proper security measures and functional-mission requirements are met for an aircraft used to transport the president of the United States.”
The two Boeing 747s currently serving as Air Force One have been in service since the early 1990s. Efforts to replace them with new Boeing 747-8 models have faced years of delays, much to the frustration of President Donald Trump.
ABC News first reported that the Trump administration was set to accept the lavish Boeing 747-8 jet as a gift from the Qatari royal family. According to sources familiar with the arrangement, the Department of Defense plans to use the plane temporarily until Boeing completes the new replacements. Ownership of the aircraft is expected to transfer to the Donald J. Trump Presidential Library Foundation shortly before Trump leaves office.
The donation has sparked controversy among Democratic lawmakers, who question the ethical implications of accepting a luxurious jet—described by aviation experts as a “flying palace”—valued between $200 million and $400 million.
“They’re giving the United States Air Force a jet, okay? And it’s a great thing,” Trump said in the Oval Office Wednesday after news of the transfer became public.
The Trump administration maintains that the gift is legal, emphasizing that the aircraft was donated to the Department of Defense, not to Trump personally, and that Qatar received no benefits in return.
“They’re giving us a free jet. I could say no, no, no, don’t give us. I want to pay you $1 billion or $400 million or whatever it is, or I could say thank you very much,” Trump said last week. On his social media platform Truth Social, he added on May 13, “The Boeing 747 is being given to the United States Air Force/Department of Defense, NOT TO ME! It will be used by our Government as a temporary Air Force One, until such time as our new Boeings, which are very late on delivery, arrive.”
At a Senate hearing Tuesday, Air Force Secretary Troy Meink confirmed the Air Force will lead efforts to modify the jet to meet presidential security standards.
“The secretary of defense has directed the Air Force to start planning modifications for the aircraft,” Meink said when asked about the transfer. “We are postured to do that.”
An Air Force spokesperson told ABC News a contract to retrofit the Qatari jet will soon be awarded, though details remain classified.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) sharply criticized the Pentagon’s acceptance of the jet and pushed legislation to ban any foreign aircraft from serving as Air Force One.
“Today marks a dark day in history: the President of the United States officially accepted the largest bribe from a foreign government in American history to the tune of a luxury $500 million 747 from Qatar,” Schumer said in a statement. “This unprecedented action is a stain on the office of the presidency and cannot go unanswered. Until Americans receive transparency on this shady deal—which apparently includes a corrupt plan for Donald Trump to keep the plane at his library after leaving office—I will continue to hold all Department of Justice political nominees.”
It remains unclear how long it will take for the Qatari jet to be retrofitted to meet the rigorous security requirements necessary to serve as Air Force One.
Earlier this month, a senior Air Force official said Boeing might accelerate delivery of the replacement 747s to 2027—one to two years earlier than previously expected.
Darlene Costello, the Air Force’s principal deputy assistant secretary for acquisition, technology, and logistics, told a House Armed Services subcommittee that the Air Force and Boeing are closely coordinating with the White House on all security measures. This includes temporarily easing some production security requirements to allow Boeing mechanics access to work on the new planes.
“We’re down to a few remaining issues that we have to work through, and we hope to close those in the very near future,” Costello said, “after which we expect to have a better estimate on the schedule.”