Senate Republicans Vote to Allow Trump to Keep Gifted Qatari Jet After Leaving Office
Republican members of the Senate Committee of Appropriations voted against an amendment prohibiting President Donald Trump from keeping the Qatari plane after his term.
In May, ABC News first broke the story that the president was going to accept a the gift — a Boeing 747 jumbo jet referred to as a “palace in the sky” — from the Qatari government. At the time of writing, the plane was undergoing a costly retrofit to serve as a temporary Air Force One while the actual Air Force One is going through its own upgrades.
That decision to accept the plane was met with a great deal of backlash from members of the Democratic Party, who questioned what Trump would do with it once his second term as president ended. Members of Congress opposed the idea of his continuing to use the plane when he was no longer president, but the Trump administration insisted it would not be for personal use.
ABC News reported earlier in the year that the Pentagon’s “plan” for the plane “called for transferring ownership of the plane to the Trump presidential library foundation” after he left office, which would still leave it under Trump’s control.
On Thursday, Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) said on X/Twitter that he offered an amendment to the Appropriations Committee to “prohibit the Qatari jet that was gifted to Trump” to be transferred to him after his presidency.
“The fight against corruption has to be ceaseless,” Murphy added.
Approximately 90 minutes later, Murphy returned to the social media platform to deliver the news that the amendment was shot down by the Republicans of the committee.
“Update: I offered the amendment,” he said. “Not to refuse acceptance of the Qatari jet; just to prohibit Trump from taking it with him when he leaves office – after the taxpayers spend $1 billion to retrofit it.
“Failed 14-15. Every single Republican voted to allow Trump to take the jet.”