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Yahoo
7 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Trump's Qatar jet deal not finalized even as Pentagon has taken possession
Legal teams for the U.S. and Qatari governments are still working out the details of an agreement for Doha to transfer a luxury Boeing 747-8 jet that President Trump hopes to use as Air Force One, more than a week after the Pentagon said it had taken physical possession of the aircraft. A White House official confirmed to The Hill Thursday that 'the details of the gift are being finalized by legal teams' from the two countries, directing further questions to the Pentagon, which declined to comment. The Washington Post first reported Wednesday that the legal transfer of the luxury jet from Qatar to the U.S. is being held up due to an outstanding request by Doha for Washington to clarify terms of the transaction. Officials familiar with the matter told the Post that Qatar wants a memorandum of understanding between the two countries to make clear that the plane's handover was initiated by the Trump administration and that Doha is not responsible for any future transfers of the 747-8's ownership. The lingering issue comes as the Pentagon announced May 21 it had officially accepted the luxury jet previously used by the Qatari royal family, a gift announced ahead of Trump's visit to the Middle East earlier this month. The plane, intended as a stand-in for the aging Air Force One fleet after the Air Force makes lengthy and expensive modifications, is one of the largest foreign gifts ever accepted by a U.S. president. The transfer has been criticized heavily by both Democratic and Republican lawmakers who are worried about ethical and security issues around the gift. Democrats are also angered by plans for the plane to potentially be transferred to Trump's presidential library after he leaves office, allowing him to have personal use of it. Trump, however, has brushed aside such concerns and insisted the jet was an excellent deal for the U.S. taxpayer. '[I] got a beautiful big magnificent free airplane for the United States Air Force,' Trump told reporters at the White House Wednesday. 'Very proud of that.' Anna Kelly, a White House spokesperson, stressed that Qatar is still giving the United States the plane for free. 'As the president has said, this will be a sovereign-to-sovereign gift to the U.S. Air Force,' Kelly said in a statement to The Hill. But some in the GOP have pointed out the purportedly free jet is not without its costs, as it will need to face a retrofit with new power systems, electrical wiring and other technology for secure communications and self-defense needed in order to be used as Air Force One. That could take years to complete and cost more than $1 billion. Just to meet the necessary requirements to ferry around the president, the Air Force estimated that it could cost $1.5 billion, with another $500 million to later remove military gear and convert it for civilian use after Trump leaves office, two people familiar with the matter told the Post. Air Force officials also found that the aircraft has been 'very poorly maintained' and needs millions of dollars of work to bring it up to satisfactory maintenance conditions, according to the outlet. Boeing is already making two new Air Force One aircraft to replace a pair of aging versions through a $3.9 billion contract with the U.S. government that has been in place since Trump's first term in 2018. But the delivery of those aircraft has been delayed until at least 2027, which Trump has used to argue for the Qatari jet. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Time of India
29-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Donald Trump's Air Force One deal with Qatar isn't final as gift may turn into legal liability
The U.S. Defense Department said the deal with Qatar for a luxury jet is done, but actually, legal teams from the U.S. and Qatar haven't finished the paperwork yet. Qatar wants the agreement to clearly say it was the Trump administration that asked for the plane, and Qatar won't be blamed for future transfers of the aircraft, as per reports. The deal is stuck because there's a debate over turning a plane sale into a 'gift', which could bring legal problems. Trump told reporters, 'I got a beautiful big magnificent free airplane for the United States Air Force.' Even though the legal issues might not kill the deal, they could make people question how the deal really started, according to The Washington Post. Trump claimed Qatar offered the jet first, but actually, his team asked Qatar this winter after Trump got mad about delays in two Boeing jets he ordered earlier. The original plan was to buy the plane, but later Qatar agreed to give it as a gift, as reported by CNN and New York Times by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Tủ lạnh 2025: Nhiều lựa chọn hiện đại với giá hợp lý LocalPlan Tìm hiểu thêm Undo A White House official confirmed that the deal is still being worked on, not complete yet. White House spokesperson Anna Kelly said there's no doubt it'll be a free gift to the U.S. Air Force, as per The Washington Post report. Qatar is getting heat from both Democrats and some Republicans over giving the luxury jet. Senator Chris Murphy and others tried to block $1.9 billion in U.S. arms sales to Qatar unless the jet offer was canceled. Murphy called the gift 'an illegal bribe' and said it's unconstitutional. Live Events House Democrats led by Rep. Gregory Meeks made a law proposal to stop federal money from being used to transfer such a jet to the U.S. or Trump's library. Trump said critics are wrong, and the jet is way too big for personal use, 'It's too big. Much too big', according to the report by The Washington Post. White House lawyer David Warrington wrote in March that the U.S. can take the plane in two steps, first to the U.S., then later to Trump's presidential library foundation. Last week, it seemed the deal was done after Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said the jet was accepted legally. But actually, legal teams haven't talked since May 9, and things are still incomplete, as per reports. Trump really wants the jet, he saw it on Feb. 15 at Palm Beach Airport and said, 'They're giving it to me.' Trump 'loved' the jet's modern design, more space, and workstations compared to old Air Force One planes. Despite the controversy, Trump's team isn't backing down. One official said, 'We're not cowardly, the press is going to love it.' Trump's team picked L3Harris, a defense company, to upgrade the plane in Texas to meet Air Force One's safety standards, as stated in the reports. But Air Force officials found the jet was 'very poorly maintained' and would need millions of dollars in repairs just to be usable. To make the jet safe for presidential use, it could cost $1.5 billion. To convert it later to civilian use might cost another $500 million, as mentioned by The Washington Post report. A former Air Force Secretary, Frank Kendall, said Trump can skip some safety rules if he wants it done fast, 'He's the commander in chief.' FAQs: Q1. Did Qatar really gift Trump a plane? Not yet, legal talks are still going on, and nothing is final. Q2. Why is the Air Force One deal with Qatar controversial? Because turning a plane sale into a gift may break rules and raise legal and political issues.
The Hill
29-05-2025
- Politics
- The Hill
Trump's Qatar jet deal not finalized even as Pentagon has taken possession
Legal teams for the U.S. and Qatari governments are still working out the details of an agreement for Doha to transfer a luxury Boeing 747-8 jet President Trump hopes to use as Air Force One, more than a week after the Pentagon said it had taken physical possession of the aircraft. A White House official confirmed to The Hill Thursday that 'the details of the gift are being finalized by legal teams' from the two countries, directing further questions to the Pentagon, which declined to comment. The Washington Post first reported Wednesday that the legal transfer of the luxury jet from Qatar to the U.S. is being held up due to an outstanding request by Doha for Washington to clarify terms of the transaction. Officials familiar with the matter told the Post that Qatar wants a memorandum of understanding between the two countries to make clear that the plane's handover was initiated by the Trump administration, and that Doha is not responsible for any future transfers of the 747-8's ownership. The lingering issue comes as the Pentagon on May 21 announced it had officially accepted the luxury jet previously used by the Qatari royal family, a gift announced ahead of Trump's visit to the Middle East earlier this month. The plane, intended as a stand-in for the aging Air Force One fleet after the Air Force makes lengthy and expensive modifications, is one of the largest foreign gifts ever accepted by a U.S. president. The transfer has been criticized heavily by both Democratic and Republican lawmakers who are worried about ethical and security issues around the gift. Democrats are also angered by plans for the plane to potentially be transferred to Trump's presidential library after he leaves office, allowing him to have personal use of it. Trump, however, has brushed aside such concerns and insisted the jet was an excellent deal for the U.S. taxpayer. '[I] got a beautiful big magnificent free airplane for the United States Air Force,' Trump told reporters at the White House Wednesday. 'Very proud of that.' Anna Kelly, a White House spokeswoman, stressed that Qatar is still giving the United States the plane for free. 'As the president has said, this will be a sovereign-to-sovereign gift to the U.S. Air Force,' Kelly said in a statement to The Hill. But some in the GOP have pointed out the purportedly free jet is not without its costs, as it will need to face a retrofit with new power systems, electrical wiring and other technology for secure communications and self-defense needed in order to be used as Air Force One. That could take years to complete and cost more than $1 billion. Just to meet the necessary requirements to ferry around the president, the Air Force estimated that it could cost $1.5 billion, with another $500 million to later remove military gear and convert it for civilian use after Trump leaves office, two people familiar with the matter told the Post. Air Force officials also found that the aircraft has been 'very poorly maintained' and needs millions of dollars of work to bring it up to satisfactory maintenance conditions, according to the outlet. Boeing is already making two new Air Force Ones to replace a pair of aging versions, a $3.9 billion contract with the U.S. government that has been in place since Trump's first term in 2018. But the delivery of those aircraft has been delayed until at least 2027, which Trump has used to argue for the Qatari jet.
Arab News
19-05-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
US judge rules Trump unlawfully ousted board members of Institute of Peace
WASHINGTON: A federal judge in Washington ruled on Monday that the Trump administration illegally ousted leaders of the US Institute of Peace, calling the effort a 'gross usurpation of power.' In her decision, US District Judge Beryl Howell said Republican President Donald Trump overstepped his power when his administration removed five board members without cause from the nonprofit organization, which is funded by the US Congress. The administration's efforts to control the direction of the Institute of Peace became a public standoff in March, when some staff of the organization locked the building's doors to bar members of Trump's Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, from entering. Local police were called and subsequently expelled the organization's leadership, including its president. White House spokesperson Anna Kelly in a statement called the Institute of Peace a 'failed' organization, and said Trump acted lawfully in reducing the group's budget. 'This rogue judge's attempt to impede on the separation of powers will not be the last say on the matter,' Kelly said. Lawyers for the board members who sued did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Institute was founded by Congress in 1984 with a mandate to protect US interests by helping to prevent violent conflicts and broker peace deals abroad. Howell said the administration's move to control the group 'by acts of force and threat using local and federal law enforcement officers, represented a gross usurpation of power and a way of conducting government affairs that unnecessarily traumatized the committed leadership and employees of USIP, who deserved better.' The Justice Department, which had argued the board members were lawfully removed, can appeal Howell's order to the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Howell in March ruled against the Institute's request for a temporary, emergency order to stop the Trump administration from controlling the organization.
New York Times
19-05-2025
- Politics
- New York Times
Judge Rules That Trump Administration Takeover of Institute of Peace Is Illegal
A federal judge ruled on Monday that the Trump administration's takeover and gutting of the U.S. Institute of Peace, an independent nonprofit created by Congress to seek diplomatic solutions to global conflicts, were unlawful and a 'gross usurpation of power' and ordered the reinstatement of officials ejected by the White House. The March takeover and the subsequent termination of most of the institute's work force followed an executive order from President Trump to cut its staffing to a bare minimum. The judge, Beryl Howell of U.S. District Court in Washington, wrote that such changes required the consent of Congress, but that the Trump administration had removed the institute's leadership and installed handpicked replacements 'through blunt force, backed up by law enforcement officers from three separate local and federal agencies.' Judge Howell's ruling, in a suit brought by former institute officials, was the latest judicial order blocking the administration's aggressive efforts to assert power over Washington institutions. In a statement on Monday, Anna Kelly, a White House spokeswoman, called the ruling a 'rogue judge's attempt to impede on the separation of powers' and suggested the administration would appeal. 'President Trump is right to reduce failed, useless entities like USIP to their statutory minimum,' Ms. Kelly added. The institute has an annual budget of $50 million, appropriated by Congress. The takeover unfolded over several dramatic days at the institute, which was established 41 years ago and whose headquarters sit on the National Mall. After the White House orchestrated the ouster of the institute's president and top staff members, they refused to leave. Then in a showdown on March 17, members of Elon Musk's cost-cutting team joined with private security and law enforcement authorities in a bid to take control of the building. After a confrontation lasting hours, the institute's top staff, including its acting president, were evicted by the Washington Metropolitan Police Department after the police determined that a State Department official had authority over the building. The White House also fired all 10 voting members of the organization's board. In the weeks that followed, all but four of the institute's hundreds of workers in the United States and abroad were terminated. The institute's work has since ground to a halt. Judge Howell rejected the Trump administration's argument that the institute was part of the executive branch. Instead, she wrote, 'USIP supports both the Executive and Legislative branches as an independent think tank that carries out its own international peace research, education and training, and information services.' Her order also prohibits the administration's 'further trespass' of the institute's headquarters. George Foote, a former lawyer for the institute who helped bring the lawsuit, lauded the judge's decision and said that the institute's former staff members had been working in anticipation of the institute being restored and were already taking steps to regain access to the building. 'The culture is intact and the management and staff are ready to go back to work,' Mr. Foote said.
