The decision by President Donald Trump to accept a $400 million luxury jet as a gift from Qatar has struck a nerve with several GOP senators.
A number of Republican lawmakers, including MAGA loyalists, have spoken out against the president’s plan to keep a customized Boeing 747-8 gifted to him by the Qatari royal family, a jet so extravagant it has been dubbed a “palace in the sky.”
Senators have raised ethical concerns about the U.S. president replacing Air Force One with a plane supplied by a foreign government. Others have expressed worries about safety issues and potential legal complications.
“I’m not flying on a Qatari plane. They support Hamas,” Sen. Rick Scott, one of Trump’s staunchest supporters, told The Hill. “I don’t know how you make it safe.”
“‘Gosh, let me give you a plane.’ I mean, that seems pretty nice, but they support Hamas, so I don’t know. I don’t know how you make it safe,” the Florida Republican added.
Sen. Josh Hawley, another ardent Trump supporter, said: “It would be better if Air Force One were a big, beautiful jet made in the United States of America. That would be ideal.”
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Daily Beast.
Trump defended his plans to accept the luxury jet from Qatar, saying on Monday it would be “stupid” to turn down such an offer. He added that the plane would be handed over to his presidential library once he leaves office, and he will not use it after his presidency.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News on Monday that “legal details” connected with receiving the jet as a gift from the Qatari government to the Trump administration are still being ironed out.
The Constitution prohibits any U.S. government official from accepting gifts from any “king, prince, or foreign state” without permission from Congress.
An unnamed Qatari official told CNN the plane is being given to the Pentagon, rather than being a personal gift.
GOP senators are still uneasy about the potential legal ramifications of Trump accepting and using the Boeing 747 from Qatar.
West Virginia Sen. Shelley Moore Capito told reporters on Monday that the administration should “run the legal challenges” to determine if accepting the gift is permissible.
“We need to look at the constitutionality of it, sure,” she added.
Sen. Susan Collins of Maine told Axios: “If Qatar gives a plane to the president of the United States, it seems to me that raises questions of whether the administration would be in compliance with the gift law.”
Not every Republican senator has expressed such concerns. Sen. Tommy Tuberville told CNN that “free is good” and that it makes fiscal sense for Trump to use the gifted jet.
“If it’s legal for him to accept that gift and be able to fly on it for the next four years, or three and a half years, I think it’s great. It’ll save us money,” the Alabama senator said.
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