Trump’s Qatar jet deal not finalized even as Pentagon has taken possession
Legal teams for the U.S. and Qatari governments are still working out the details of an agreement for Doha to transfer a luxury Boeing 747-8 jet that President Trump hopes to use as Air Force One, more than a week after the Pentagon said it had taken physical possession of the aircraft.
A White House official confirmed to The Hill Thursday that “the details of the gift are being finalized by legal teams” from the two countries, directing further questions to the Pentagon, which declined to comment.
The Washington Post first reported Wednesday that the legal transfer of the luxury jet from Qatar to the U.S. is being held up due to an outstanding request by Doha for Washington to clarify terms of the transaction.
Officials familiar with the matter told the Post that Qatar wants a memorandum of understanding between the two countries to make clear that the plane’s handover was initiated by the Trump administration and that Doha is not responsible for any future transfers of the 747-8’s ownership.
The lingering issue comes as the Pentagon announced May 21 it had officially accepted the luxury jet previously used by the Qatari royal family, a gift announced ahead of Trump’s visit to the Middle East earlier this month.
The plane, intended as a stand-in for the aging Air Force One fleet after the Air Force makes lengthy and expensive modifications, is one of the largest foreign gifts ever accepted by a U.S. president.
The transfer has been criticized heavily by both Democratic and Republican lawmakers who are worried about ethical and security issues around the gift.
Democrats are also angered by plans for the plane to potentially be transferred to Trump’s presidential library after he leaves office, allowing him to have personal use of it.
Trump, however, has brushed aside such concerns and insisted the jet was an excellent deal for the U.S. taxpayer.
“[I] got a beautiful big magnificent free airplane for the United States Air Force,” Trump told reporters at the White House Wednesday. “Very proud of that.”
Anna Kelly, a White House spokesperson, stressed that Qatar is still giving the United States the plane for free.
“As the president has said, this will be a sovereign-to-sovereign gift to the U.S. Air Force,” Kelly said in a statement to The Hill.
But some in the GOP have pointed out the purportedly free jet is not without its costs, as it will need to face a retrofit with new power systems, electrical wiring and other technology for secure communications and self-defense needed in order to be used as Air Force One. That could take years to complete and cost more than $1 billion.
Just to meet the necessary requirements to ferry around the president, the Air Force estimated that it could cost $1.5 billion, with another $500 million to later remove military gear and convert it for civilian use after Trump leaves office, two people familiar with the matter told the Post.
Air Force officials also found that the aircraft has been “very poorly maintained” and needs millions of dollars of work to bring it up to satisfactory maintenance conditions, according to the outlet.
Boeing is already making two new Air Force One aircraft to replace a pair of aging versions through a $3.9 billion contract with the U.S. government that has been in place since Trump’s first term in 2018. But the delivery of those aircraft has been delayed until at least 2027, which Trump has used to argue for the Qatari jet.