Pentagon finalizes $400M Qatar presidential jet gift sparking criticism
The US Department of Defense has finalized a deal with Qatar, accepting a $400 million Boeing 747 VIP jet as an “unconditional” gift to serve as the next presidential aircraft.
On July 7, 2025, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Qatar’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State for Defense Affairs, Saoud bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to formalize the agreement. However, the official details of the MoU have not been disclosed.
A copy of the document reviewed by CBS News on July 29, 2025, states that the aircraft is an “unconditional donation” and the US will not be paying for it.
“Nothing in this MOU is, or shall be interpreted or construed as an offer, promise, or acceptance of any form of bribery, undue influence, or corrupt practice,” the memorandum read. “The parties affirm that the donation is a bona fide gift.”
The jet will be donated “as is”, meaning the Pentagon will bear any expenses related to upgrading the aircraft for improved security.
The US Air Force intends to utilize leftover funds from the LGM-35A Sentinel nuclear missile program to assist in refurbishing the aircraft. During a hearing in June 2025, Secretary of the Air Force Troy E. Meink said that the reallocated Sentinel funds were “excess to need.”
Can the US president legally accept a foreign gift?
The unusual arrangement has raised serious legal and ethical concerns, and the available details surrounding the “donation” were quickly called into question.
In a legal memo, released on July 28, 2025, the Freedom of the Press Foundation, represented by American Oversight, filed a lawsuit against the US Department of Justice to obtain the official memorandum.
According to the memo, one ethics expert called the transfer of the multimillion-dollar luxury jet an “illegal, unconstitutional payoff from a foreign government to the president at a scale we actually have never seen.”
Additionally, The Freedom of the Press Foundation claimed in the memo that the “details surrounding the transaction have remained murky.”
The memo stated that the Trump administration claimed that Qatar had approached the US to offer the $400 million gift.
However, multiple sources indicated that it was the other way around and the Trump administration had initiated the discussion when President Trump became frustrated with an expected two year wait for Boeing to replace the current presidential planes.
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Additionally, there are constitutional rules that prevent a president from accepting gifts, particularly the Foreign Emoluments Clause.
The document reads: “No person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State.” The post Pentagon finalizes $400M Qatar presidential jet gift sparking criticism appeared first on AeroTime.
The US Department of Defense has finalized a deal with Qatar, accepting a $400 million Boeing 747 VIP…
The post Pentagon finalizes $400M Qatar presidential jet gift sparking criticism appeared first on AeroTime.
