Republicans Shrug As Trump Plans To Accept $400 Million Jet From Qatar

WASHINGTON — Donald Trump is planning to accept a $400 million luxury jet from a foreign government as a gift, an unprecedented deal that raises all sorts of constitutional, ethical and national security concerns, but most members of his party don’t seem to mind. 

Many Republicans on Capitol Hill shrugged off the news or dodged questions about a wildly shocking arrangement that, had it occurred under a Democratic administration, would have made their heads explode. 

“Can’t beat free,” Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.) told reporters when asked about the offer Monday. 

Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), meanwhile, declined to comment on the $400 million jet deal, saying he needed to “talk to ethics” first. 

Trump is planning to accept the luxury Boeing 747-8 airplane, referred to as a “palace in the sky,” from the government of Qatar, retrofit it, and then use it as his presidential plane until near the end of his term, at which point it would be turned over to Trump’s presidential library foundation. He maintained on Monday that it would be “stupid” to turn down the offer of a free plane to replace the current Air Force One Boeing 747, which is aging. 

The U.S. Constitution specifically forbids anyone holding public office from accepting gifts from foreign officials or governments without explicit approval from Congress. Moreover, accepting the jet from a foreign nation known for seeking to influence policy in the Middle East would expose Trump to giant conflicts of interest, as even a few Republicans acknowledged this week.

“It just doesn’t seem right,” Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) told HuffPost. “I think people will think that it could possibly sway your decision-making process.”

“When you get something of that value from a country, one typically thinks that there’s something in it for the country that is offering it,” added Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska).

According to ABC News, which first reported on the luxury jet offer, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, who previously worked as a highly paid lobbyist for Qatar, and the White House’s top lawyer concluded the deal would be permissible on the condition that the plane’s ownership be transferred to Trump’s presidential library. 

“Any gift given by a foreign government is always accepted in full compliance with all applicable laws,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in an emailed statement. “President Trump’s Administration is committed to full transparency.” 

Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) deferred to the White House on the legality of the deal but he told HuffPost the biggest problem with the jet offer is that it might not be practical, since the plane would have to be refurbished with various presidential necessities. The cost of retrofitting a plane into Air Force One would also likely fall on U.S. taxpayers. 

“There’s a reason why it’s taking us so long to get the Air Force One rehabbed right now,” Rounds said. “It’s just got a whole lot of stuff in it that protects the president. I’m not sure how much time we save on the new one.”

Asked if she would ever accept a $400 million gift from a foreign nation, Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) answered, “That’s a hypothetical that’s never going to happen.” 

Democrats were apoplectic about the president’s plans to accept the luxury jet from Qatar, pointing to the move as more evidence of Trump profiting off the presidency, such as the multibillion-dollar business deals his family has inked across the Middle East and shady crypto ventures Trump has launched since returning to the White House. 

“How is this gift not naked corruption?” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) asked Tuesday, vowing to put a hold on all of Trump’s political nominees to the Department of Justice in protest.

“What is most chilling about this brazen bribe — and the national security betrayal — is how openly Donald Trump is doing it,” he added. “How he is lying about the need for this aircraft and the risks involved. And how he is daring Republicans to call him out. And how are Republicans responding? With silence. With their heads in the sand; total obeisance, afraid to tell the emperor he has no clothes.”

House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer (R-Ky.), who led an impeachment inquiry investigating “influence peddling” and potential conflicts of interest in the Joe Biden administration, declined to comment Tuesday when HuffPost asked about Trump accepting a free plane from a foreign government.

But Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) pointed to the plain text of the Constitution, which says that, without congressional approval, no officer of the United States can accept “any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State.”

“The American Framers didn’t — & the American people don’t — want a president corrupted by foreign state money, gifts or luxury jets,” Raskin wrote Tuesday on social media. “No presents ‘of any kind whatever’ are allowed from foreign states and kings without Congressional consent.”