The Pentagon has confirmed it has accepted a Boeing 747 aircraft from Qatar for future use as part of the Air Force One fleet, in a move that has triggered widespread criticism, including from allies of former President Donald Trump.

Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said on Wednesday that the aircraft was accepted “in accordance with all federal rules and regulations.” The plane, reportedly gifted by the Qatari royal family and valued at $400 million (£300 million), will undergo significant modifications before it is considered fit to serve as the official transport aircraft for the US president.

The White House has defended the gift as legal, emphasising that it is a government-to-government transfer and not a personal gift to President Trump. The aircraft, once retrofitted with advanced communications, security systems, and the capability to survive a nuclear electromagnetic pulse, may take several years and over $1 billion (£750 million) to fully equip, analysts say.

“They’re giving us a gift,” Trump said last week, saying it would be “stupid” to turn down the plane.

Despite the administration’s justification, the transfer has raised serious ethical and legal questions, particularly concerning the US Constitution’s Emoluments Clause, which prohibits federal officials from accepting gifts from foreign states without Congressional approval — something the Qatari gift has not received.

Trump has argued that because the aircraft is going to the Department of Defence and not to him personally, the clause does not apply. He also stated that he will not use the plane after leaving office and that it will eventually be transferred to his presidential library.

But that explanation has failed to calm criticism from within his own party. Republican senators Rand Paul and Ted Cruz expressed concerns that the deal not only creates a perception of impropriety but may also present national security risks.

“I wonder if our ability to judge [Qatar’s] human rights record will be clouded by the fact of this large gift,” Senator Paul told Fox News.

“Accepting the gift would pose significant espionage and surveillance problems,” added Senator Cruz.

The Qatari government has insisted the exchange is strictly between two defence ministries, with Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani stating, “It has nothing to do with personal relationships – neither on the US side, nor the Qatari side.”

However, critics have pointed to Trump’s private visit to the aircraft at a Palm Beach facility near Mar-a-Lago shortly after the start of his second term, fuelling speculation over the motivations behind the deal. Trump’s strained relationship with Boeing, the manufacturer already contracted to supply two 747-8s as Air Force One replacements, has also heightened scrutiny.

The current Air Force One fleet, comprising two ageing 747-200s in use since 1990, is overdue for replacement. Delays in Boeing’s fulfilment of its contract to deliver updated 747-8s — now estimated to arrive in two to three years — have added urgency to the situation.

While Trump has described the transfer as “transparent” and in the nation’s best interest, the controversy surrounding its legality, optics, and strategic implications continues to intensify, leaving the Biden administration and Congress under pressure to further review the arrangement.

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