Republicans raise concerns over Trump’s plane gift as he heads to Qatar

Some politicians flag potential security issues as the president doubles down on defending the offer, saying only a ‘fool’ would turn it down.

Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani and US President Donald Trump leave after a signing ceremony at the Royal Palace in Doha on Wednesday. Picture: AFP

Republican lawmakers expressed national-security concerns over the proposed $400 million plane that the Qatari ruling family wants to give to the US for use as Air Force One, offering rare GOP resistance to a venture backed by President Trump.

Many of the Republicans who expressed doubts serve on congressional committees that oversee the nation’s armed services and intelligence agencies. They said that the White House would be subject to a battery of questions regarding security if the transfer goes forward. They added that scrubbing the plane for foreign surveillance technology would be a costly and laborious process and questioned whether the Qatari plane would have necessary capabilities — such as being able to refuel in midair — or carry the advanced technology needed for an airborne command centre.

Several suggested that President Trump and the White House might rethink the offer.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (Republican, South Dakota) stressed Tuesday afternoon that nothing was official yet and predicted there would be “plenty of scrutiny” around the arrangement should it move forward. “There are lots of issues around that that I think will attract very serious questions if and when it happens,” Thune said.

The Republicans’ comments are relatively mild compared with those of Democrats who have characterised the gift as raising ethical and constitutional flags, but they represent one of the few rifts between Trump and members of his party in Congress.

Trump also has faced some criticism over the deal from conservative commentators. Ben Shapiro characterised the idea as “skeezy,” and the influencer Laura Loomer took aim at Qatar via social media, saying “we cannot accept a $400 million ‘gift’ from jihadists in suits.”

A Qatari plane at Palm Beach International Airport that Trump toured in February.Photo: Roberto Schmidt/AFP

The objections voiced by GOP lawmakers also are noteworthy given that Trump is currently on an overseas trip to the Middle East. He landed in Qatar for a state visit on Wednesday, and the blowback at home about the gift threatens to overshadow the trip.

“I have concerns whenever you accept a gift from a foreign country — even those that we perceive to be the closest of allies — whether or not that plane might have any listening devices in it,” Senator Todd Young (Republican, Indiana) said to The Wall Street Journal on Tuesday.

Young said it would be appropriate for the Senate Armed Services Committee or other congressional panels to take a look at the security concerns before the plane is put into service.

Trump on Tuesday night doubled down on his desire to accept the plane. He said that the gift would be given to the Defence Department and save taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars. “Only a FOOL would not accept this gift on behalf of our Country,” Trump wrote on his social-media platform, saying Qatar “wants to reward us for a job well done.” During an interview with the Fox News host Sean Hannity on Tuesday night, Trump called the proposed gift “a beautiful gesture” and disparaged critics as “stupid.”

Trump has long complained that the ageing aeroplanes used for transporting the president are outdated and expressed frustration about delays to a contract with Boeing for a new set of presidential planes.

Qatar offered to help, and has been in talks with the Trump administration about providing a luxury plane owned by the Qatari ruling family for Trump’s use as president. According to the plan being discussed, the plane would be retrofitted by a US defence contractor to meet specific requirements for transporting the US president. After Trump’s term, the plane would be exhibited at the president’s library, according to the plan.

The idea has struck many as audacious, given that the planes used by the president differ from commercial aeroplanes. They include sophisticated defence and communications systems so that a president can conduct his full duties, including commanding the military, while in flight. Parts of the plane are so secret that reporters travelling with the president are barred from photographing certain sections up close.

Republican lawmakers focused their concerns on national-security issues that would arise in such an arrangement.

“I would be concerned about whether the plane can be scrubbed thoroughly to ensure that there aren’t listening devices,” said Senator Susan Collins (Republican, Maine).

“That’s a real problem because I’m sure that given the opportunity, our adversaries would be happy to plant something on the plane,” said Senator John Cornyn (Republican, Texas).

“I understand the president would love to be as efficient as possible, but this one may be a challenge,” warned Senator Mike Rounds (Republican, South Dakota).

Though Trump argued that the arrangement could save taxpayer money, Senator Thom Tillis (Republican, North Carolina) said he believes there would be significant costs associated with securing it, given that the plane will contain an array of proprietary technology. “Every centimetre of the plane is going to have to be reviewed and have to go through all kinds of air worthiness testing,” Tillis said. “You just don’t deliver a plane.”

He questioned whether it would be worth it to spend so much time combing through the plane given that it is only intended to be used temporarily. “When I say every square centimetre of that plane would have to be reviewed, I mean it. And that’s a lot of work, a lot of time for maybe a 3½-year-long life.”

Senator James Lankford (Republican, Oklahoma) said he would have “serious concerns” about the president’s using a Qatari plane as Air Force One.

“It would take years to be able to get it up to the specs, to be usable on that level” — if it is possible at all, Lankford said. “They would have to strip it down and rebuild it,” he said.

“Air Force One, when it is constructed, is constructed by people with top-secret clearance. Everyone on the plane, around the plane, has classified access on that,” Lankford said. “The plane itself has a lot of extra bells and whistles on it for defensive protection that the typical commercial plane does not have.”

Not all Republicans share the concerns about feasibility. Senator Markwayne Mullin (Republican, Oklahoma) said he wasn’t worried about the aircraft’s security. “There’s zero chance we leave anything in that plane except the frame,” Mullin said. “They’re going to strip to bare bones.”

Wall Street Journal