Washington — The royal family of Qatar is donating a jumbo jet for President Trump's exclusive use as a presidential plane, sources told CBS News.
ABC News first reported the gift, which comes as Mr. Trump heads to Qatar as part of his first international trip of his second term.
But the plane, a 747-8, won't be ready to serve as Air Force One quite yet, and Mr. Trump won't be using it to fly back to the U.S. from the Middle East. The plane needs to be checked for security and spying devices before it is accepted, one of the sources told CBS News.
The plane will be donated to the future Trump presidential library shortly before he leaves office.
On Monday, Mr. Trump defended receiving the plane, saying "they're giving us a gift."
In remarks from the Oval Office, Mr. Trump said the current plane used for Air Force One is nearly 40 years old, and he had signed an executive order in his first term to upgrade it.
"When the election didn't exactly work out the way that it should have, a lot of work was not done on the plane," he said. "When I came back, I said, by the way, what's going on with the Boeings that are coming? 'Well sir, they're way behind.'"
Mr. Trump continued that "I think Qatar, who has really, we've helped them a lot over the years in terms of security and safety," and that he has "a lot of respect for the leadership."
"They knew about it because they buy Boeings, they buy a lot of Boeings, and they knew about it, and they said, we would like to do something," Mr. Trump said. "And if we can get a 747 as a contribution to our Defense Department to use during a couple of years while they're building the other ones, I think that was a very nice gesture. Now I could be a stupid person and say, oh no, we don't want a free plane."
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Monday morning that the Qatari government "graciously offered to donate a plane to the Department of Defense" and the "legal details of that are still being worked out, but of course, any donation to this government is always done in full compliance with the law."
Leavitt said she is "absolutely not" worried that if Qatar gives the U.S. something, the country expects something in return.
Ali Al-Ansari, Qatar's Media Attaché to the U.S., confirmed to CBS News that the possible transfer of an aircraft for temporary use as Air Force One is under consideration between Qatar's Ministry of Defense and the US Department of Defense, but the matter remains under review by the respective legal departments, and no decision has been made.
But Al-Ansar said reports that the plane will be gifted during this trip are "inaccurate."
Leavitt said Sunday that "any gift given by a foreign government is always accepted in full compliance with all applicable laws. President Trump's Administration is committed to full transparency."
Qatar has also offered to donate a plane to the Department of Defense, but the gift will not be donated or accepted during this trip to Qatar, a U.S. official said.
Democratic Rep. Ritchie Torres of New York confirmed to CBS News that he sent a letter to the Government Accountability Office urging an investigation into the Trump administration accepting a plane as a gift.
"With an estimated value of $400 million, the aerial palace would constitute the most valuable gift ever conferred on a President by a foreign government," he wrote.
Torres asked for an "immediate ethics review of the Qatari gift" and "a formal advisory opinion on whether the gift violates federal ethics regulations and the Emoluments Clause."
In a post on his Truth Social platform on Sunday, Mr. Trump defended the idea of receiving the luxurious jet and lambasted those who criticized what he called a "free of charge gift" to "replace a 40 year old Air Force One, temporarily." He claimed it was a "very public and transparent transaction."
"So bothers the Crooked Democrats that they insist we pay, TOP DOLLAR, for the plane," he wrote. "Anybody can do that! The Dems are World Class Losers!!! MAGA."
The Air Force One was already set to be replaced, with delivery initially set for 2024. But the completion of the modified Boeing 747 was pushed to some time in 2027 for the first plane and in 2028 — Mr. Trump's final year in office — for the second, according to the U.S. Air Force.
The president is departing Monday on his first major foreign trip of his second term, set to visit Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates on the four-day visit.
Leavitt said Friday that the trip will focus on "strengthening ties between our nations," citing Mr. Trump's first trip in 2017 to the Middle East, where he "introduced his bold peace-through-strength foreign policy strategy."
"Now, eight years later, President Trump will return to re-emphasize his continued vision for a proud, prosperous and successful Middle East, where the United States and Middle Eastern nations are in cooperative relationships, and where extremism is defeated in place of commerce and cultural exchanges," Leavitt said.
Qatar's Media Attaché to the U.S., Ali Al-Ansari, disputed reports, saying in a statement that the "possible transfer of an aircraft for temporary use as Air Force One is currently under consideration between Qatar's Ministry of Defense and the U.S. Department of Defense," while noting that "the matter remains under review by the respective legal departments, and no decision has been made."
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Jennifer Jacobs