President Donald Trump’s administration could be the most valuable gift ever received from a foreign government, likely to embrace the luxurious Boeing 747-8 jumbo jet of Qatar’s royal family, ABC News reported.
The gift will be announced this week when Trump visits Qatar as part of his Middle East tour. The ABC says it is referring to people who are well-versed in the planning.
The Super Luxury Boeing Co. 747-8 Jumbo Jet will be used as Air Force 1, people told the network.
The White House and the Department of Justice did not immediately respond to ABC’s request for comment, including whether the gift was legal. A Qatar Embassy spokesman did not respond to requests for comment, the ABC said.
Trump has been seeking alternatives to replace the aging Air Force after a chronic delay by Boeing, which delivered two new aircraft that the president ordered during his first term. This month’s Air Force said Boeing is proposing to offer a new version of Air Force 1 by 2027.
Bloomberg News previously reported that Trump had inspected a Catari-owned Boeing Jet when it landed in West Palm Beach, Florida in February. At the time, the president told reporters he was “not happy” to Boeing, and that his administration was considering doing “something else.”
“We might go and buy a plane,” Trump said a few days after touring the jet. It has been used for the past decade by Hamad bin Jasim bin Jabba al Thani, one of the wealthiest figures of the Qatar royal family.
According to the ABC, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondy and Trump Attorney General David Warrington have drafted an analysis that concluded that aircraft donations are “legally permissible” as long as aircraft donations are transferred to Trump’s Presidential Library before the end of his term.
