The Trump government plans to accept a luxurious Boeing 747-8 plane as a donation of the Royal Family of Qatar, which will be modernized to serve as Air Force One, possibly the largest foreign gift ever received by the US government, a high employee said directly.
The plane will then be donated to President Trump’s presidential library when he leaves office, allowing him to continue to use it as a private citizen.
The plan raises substantial ethical questions, given the immense value of the luxuriously equipped plane and the fact that Trump plans to use it after leaving office. A new Boeing 747-800 costs about $ 400 million.
Trump’s own private plane, known as “Trump Force One,” is an older jet 757 that first flew in the early 1990s and was then used by Microsoft co -founder Paul Allen. Trump bought it in 2011. The Qatar jet, if Trump continues to fly with him after leaving office, would give him a substantially younger plane for his personal use.
The plan – previously reported by ABC News – It should be announced in the coming days, while Trump makes the first prolonged international trip of his presidency to three nations of the Middle East, including Qatar. This will meet the president’s desire for a new Air Force One, after repeated delays involving a government contract with Boeing for two new jets for this purpose.
Trump visited the 747 owned by Qatar, which has just over a decade, while he was parked at Palm Beach International Airport in February. THE New York Times He reported at the time that the jet was being considered as a possible new Air Force One.
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The plane being donated by Qatar should be adapted by a military contractor named L3harris in Texas, and this work may begin as soon as the government approves how the plane is being purchased, the official said. Modernization with military capacities is expected to be completed by the end of the year, allowing Trump to use it while in office.
A White House spokesman did not respond to a request for comment.
A Defense Department authority said on Sunday that the Air Force has not yet reached any agreement on a contract to renovate Qatar’s 747 to make safety updates and modifications necessary for an AF1, and the Air Force could not legally do so until it really took over the airplane.
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Assuming this happens, the authority said it would still take a prolonged period to complete the contract and, most importantly, to perform real updates and modifications.
“We have been talking about years, not months,” said the defense department authority, speaking on anonymity to discuss sensitive details about a future Air Force One.
The model that the government is using to address the ethical issues raised by the donation, the authority said, is followed by President Ronald Reagan’s presidential library when he received Air Force One that he had piloted after being retired. But at the time, Reagan did not use the plane to fly. He was installed in the museum part of his library.
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Another person knowledgeable to buy the plane said the Caarians initially offered him immediately to the Trump library, and then allow Trump to use him while in office. But government lawyers said this would violate the Constitution’s fees clause, the person said.
The current plan was approved by government lawyers who concluded that it does not violate the Constitution’s fees clause and that the Defense Department can accept the present, the officer said.
