Washington — The Defense Department said Wednesday it has accepted a Boeing jet from Qatar that will be retrofitted and used to transport President Trump.
Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statement that Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth accepted the Boeing 747 “in accordance with all federal rules and regulations.”
“The Department of Defense will work to ensure proper security measures and functional-mission requirements are considered for an aircraft used to transport the President of the United States,” Parnell said.
The New York Times first reported that the Pentagon had accepted the jetliner from the government of Qatar.
Hegseth’s acceptance of the plane comes days after sources confirmed to CBS News that the Qatari royal family would be donating aircraft for Mr. Trump’s use. The gift was first reported by ABC News. The jumbo jet will be donated to Mr. Trump’s future presidential library just before he leaves office.
Mr. Trump told reporters last week that the Qataris are “giving us a gift” and lamented that the current plane used for Air Force One is nearly four decades old. When the president is aboard either of the two Boeing aircrafts that are part of the presidential air transport fleet, its call sign is “Air Force One,” according to the Air Force.
“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,” Mr. Trump said. “Now I could be a stupid person and say, oh no, we don’t want a free plane.”
The president has continued to defend the notion of receiving the plane from Qatar, writing on social media that the Boeing jet is being given to the Defense Department, and is a gift that will be used as a “temporary Air Force One” until new Boeing planes arrive.
“Why should our military, and therefore our taxpayers, be forced to pay hundreds of millions of Dollars when they can get it for FREE from a country that wants to reward us for a job well done. This big savings will be spent, instead, to MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! Only a FOOL would not accept this gift on behalf of our Country,” he wrote last week.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt also reiterated Monday that the plane is a donation to the nation and the Air Force.
“The government of Qatar, Qatari family, has offered to donate this plane to the United States Air Force, where that donation will be accepted according to all legal and ethical obligations,” she said. “It will be retrofitted to the highest of standards by the Department of Defense and the United States Air Force. This plane is not a personal donation or a gift to the president of the United States.”