The Trump administration is preparing to receive a Boeing 747-8 from the Qatari royal family, according to reports in American media on Sunday.
This may be “the most valuable gift ever extended to the United States from a foreign government,” according to ABC News. The value of the aircraft is estimated to be $400 million.
The gift is meant to serve as US President Donald Trump’s new Air Force One plane until he leaves office, at which point, it will be donated to the Trump presidential library foundation, a source familiar with the arrangement told ABC News.
Sources said that the gift is expected to be officially announced next week during Trump’s visit to Doha.
Trump toured the plane while it was parked at the Palm Beach International Airport in February, according to ABC.
The plane is so luxurious that it is known as a “flying palace,” the media outlet added.
Such an expensive gift could raise questions regarding whether this transaction from one head of state to another is legal, the report said.
Sources told ABC that lawyers from the White House Counsel and the Justice Department concluded that there were no legal issues with Trump accepting the gift.
This “does not violate laws against bribery or the Constitution’s prohibition” (the emoluments clause) of any US government official accepting gifts “from any king, prince, or foreign state,” the sources told ABC.
The plane will be transferred to the United States Air Force, which will modify it to meet military specifications required for any aircraft used to transport the US president, sources told ABC.
A US Defense Department official said that the air force has not reached any contractual agreement to refurbish the aircraft, according to The New York Times.
Trump has been using his own private plane, known colloquially as Trump Force One, but this is an older Boeing 757, the NYT reported.
Trump frustrated with Boeing delays to provide a new plane
He has been frustrated by delays on Boeing’s work to deliver a new Air Force One, The Wall Street Journal reported on May 1.
In order to avoid perceived delays, Washington commissioned L3Harris to overhaul a Boeing 747 “formerly used by the Qatari government,” the WSJ added.