Defense Department accepts Boeing 747 from Qatar for Trump’s use

WASHINGTON AP Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has accepted a luxury Boeing aircraft from Qatar for President Donald Trump to use as Air Force One the Pentagon declared Wednesday despite ongoing questions about the ethics and legality of taking the expensive gift from a foreign nation The Defense Department will work to ensure proper prevention measures on the aircraft to make it safe for use by the president Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell noted He added that the plane was accepted in accordance with all federal rules and regulations Trump has defended the gift which came up during his up-to-date Middle East trip as a way to save tax dollars Why should our military and therefore our taxpayers be forced to pay hundreds of millions of Dollars when they can get it for FREE Trump posted on his social media site during the trip Others however have revealed Trump s acceptance of an aircraft that has been called a palace in the sky is a violation of the Constitution s prohibition on foreign gifts Democrats have been united in outrage and even particular of the Republican president s GOP allies in Congress have expressed concerns They also have noted the need to retrofit the plane to meet shield requirements which would be costly and take time Far from saving money this unconstitutional action will not only cost our nation its dignity but it will force taxpayers to waste over billion in taxpayer dollars to overhaul this particular aircraft when we now have not one but two fully operational and fully capable Air Force One aircraft revealed Sen Tammy Duckworth D-Ill She stated during a hearing Tuesday that it is a dangerous class of action for the U S to accept the aircraft from the Qatari ruling family Air Force Secretary Troy Meink described senators that Hegseth has ordered the function to start planning how to update it to meet needed standards and acknowledged that the plane will require essential modifications The Air Force in a announcement disclosed it is preparing to award a contract to modify a Boeing aircraft but that any details are classified Trump was petitioned about the move Wednesday while he was meeting in the Oval Office with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa They are giving the United States Air Force a jet Trump announced bristling at being questioned about the gift by a reporter Trump stated it was given not to me to the United States Air Force so they could help us out and noted that Boeing s a little bit late unfortunately Ramaphosa who was sitting next to Trump in the Oval Office and has been working to repair his relationship with the president revealed I m sorry I don t have a plane to give you If your country was offering the United States Air Force a plane I would take it Trump commented Trump has presented no national protection imperative for a swift upgrade rather than waiting for Boeing to finish new Air Force One jets that have been in the works for years He has tried to tamp down several of the opposition by saying he wouldn t fly around in the aircraft when his term ends Instead he noted the plane would be donated to a future presidential library similar to how the Boeing used by President Ronald Reagan was decommissioned and put on display as a museum piece