Representative Jamie Raskin of Maryland, the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, informed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Wednesday that he could face steep fines for having accepted a luxury jet from the Qatari government, arguing the gift violated the Constitution and a federal gifts law, and required congressional approval.
Mr. Hegseth was the official who formally accepted a Boeing 747 jetliner from Qatar last month, according to a Defense Department spokesman. The Pentagon has directed the Air Force to upgrade its security measures so that President Trump can use the plane as a new Air Force One.
The gift has raised a host of concerns among both Republicans and Democrats in Congress. Some have focused on national security risks, saying they worry the plane might have listening devices, or that Mr. Trump’s desire for a new plane before he leaves office might rush any security upgrade and lead corners to be cut on critical protection systems.
But many lawmakers, especially Democrats such as Mr. Raskin, have focused on the ethical issues raised by a lavish gift to an American president from a foreign government. They have accused Mr. Trump of corruption and expressed fears that Qatar may be trying to improperly influence the Trump administration.
In a letter on Wednesday, Mr. Raskin, a former professor of constitutional law, warned Mr. Hegseth that his acceptance of the plane violated the Constitution’s emoluments clause, which bars federal officials from accepting financial benefits from foreign governments without Congress’s approval.
Congress has not yet taken any formal vote to accept the plane as a gift from Qatar. Officials in the Trump administration have said that the gift is to the U.S. government, not to him as president, and therefore that it does not violate the Constitution or ethics laws.
But Mr. Raskin said the gift was not only unconstitutional but also in violation of at least one federal law. He told Mr. Hegseth that his acceptance of the plane violated the Foreign Gifts and Decorations Act, which sets limits on the gifts that federal officials — including the president — can receive from foreign governments.
Under that law, government officials can accept gifts up to $480. And they cannot “request or otherwise encourage the tender of a gift or decoration” from another nation.
Reporting by The New York Times found that the Pentagon and Mr. Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, played key roles in negotiating an arrangement with Qatar for the plane.
Those who violate the act can face a financial penalty that equals the amount of the gift, plus $5,000. Sold new, a Boeing 747-8 jet can cost in the range of $400 million, though industry executives have estimated the value of the Qatari plane at $200 million.
“You may be on the hook for $400 million (plus $5,000) even for a jumbo jet that you accepted on behalf of the president but do not get to personally enjoy,” Mr. Raskin told Mr. Hegseth, according to a copy of his letter that was obtained by The Times.
If Mr. Hegseth believed there was “nothing untoward” about the arrangement, Mr. Raskin wrote, the defense secretary “should let Congress and the president’s Republican colleagues vote to approve the transaction. If you’re unwilling to do that, you must return the plane to Qatar.”
So far, Democrats have been unsuccessful in their efforts to bar Mr. Trump from accepting the jet. Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the minority leader, tried and failed last month to pass a bill that would ban the use of a foreign jet as Air Force One. Other Democratic lawmakers, including Mr. Raskin, have introduced resolutions to condemn the gift that have not been considered on the floor.
Last month, a group of Senate Democrats asked the Justice Department’s inspector general to investigate Attorney General Pam Bondi’s role in the decision to accept the jet.
As members of the minority party, Democrats are limited in their ability to convene oversight hearings that would force testimony from government officials on the matter. And congressional Republicans have declined so far to call a hearing about the Qatari jet, even as many of them have warned that accepting it might fall afoul of constitutional checks and balances.
The Constitution grants Congress the authority to permit or block federal officials from receiving gifts from foreign governments. That oversight stems from the early days of the nation, when the founding fathers were concerned by European kings bestowing gifts upon American leaders, including a jewel-encrusted snuffbox that the king of France gave Benjamin Franklin and a horse that the king of Spain bequeathed to John Jay. Both men reported those gifts to the early American government and were allowed to keep them, a custom that became enshrined in the Constitution.
Michael Gold covers Congress for The Times, with a focus on immigration policy and congressional oversight.
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