Gop Heavyweights Join Bipartisan Bashing Of Trump Qatar Jet Deal

A number of Republican lawmakers are souring on President Donald Trump’s plans to accept a luxury Boeing 747 aircraft as a gift from Qatar — a rare series of rebukes of the president by his allies in Congress.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune on Tuesday became the most prominent Republican to express discomfort with the deal, telling reporters there are “lots of issues associated with that offer which I think need to be further talked about."

Firebrands within the GOP caucus have gone even further in their rebukes, saying the deal could feed questions of impropriety and legitimize a regime they argue supports Islamist militant groups around the world.

“I do think the jet probably sends the wrong signal to people, and I don't like the look or the appearance [of it], so I would hope he rejects it,” Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) said Tuesday on Fox News.

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) noted Qatar’s financial support for militant group Hamas, a foe of Israel, and voiced concern about the security risks the plane could present. Qatar was also a backer of Hezbollah in the past, though the relationship soured after the Syrian Civil War.

“I also think that the plane poses significant espionage and surveillance problems. So we'll see how this issue plays out,” Cruz said Tuesday on CNBC.

The senators’ remarks have made the outrage over the potential deal a rare bipartisan moment in Washington, as Democrats and some of the most fervent backers of the president outside of government unite to slam the plans.

The U.S. and Qatar have a warming, yet complicated relationship. Despite its past material support for terror groups, Doha emerged as a critical mediator in the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, and members of the Trump administration had ties to Qatar before entering government. Some of the funding to Hamas reportedly came at the request of Israel, as part of ploys to stabilize Palestinian territories occupied by Israel.

Qatar has offered to transfer the $400 million luxury plane to the United States to be used as a temporary Air Force One while a new plane is under construction. Trump — who is visiting Doha this week as part of a Middle East tour — has said it would be donated to his future presidential library after he leaves office. Qatar has said no final decision has been made but discussions between its defense ministry and the Pentagon about the plane’s transfer are ongoing.

MAGA loyalist Laura Loomer, who has flexed her muscles over Trump’s foreign policy in recent weeks by orchestrating a purge of insufficiently loyal staffers on the White House National Security Council, was among the first Trump backers to slam the deal.

Podcaster Ben Shapiro also criticized the deal on his show Monday, saying “taking sacks and goodies from people who support Hamas, the Muslim Brotherhood, Al Jazeera, all the rest, that isn’t ‘America First.’”

Meanwhile, Democrats went out guns blazing against the decision, characterizing it as blatant graft and also raising potential national security concerns about the U.S. president flying on a jet gifted from a Middle Eastern partner.

“This isn’t a good idea even if the plane was being donated to the U.S. government. But Trump GETS TO KEEP THE PLANE???” Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) said in a post on X. “It’s simply a cash payment to Trump in exchange for favors. Just wildly illegal.”

“We don't know what kind of bugs might be put in that aircraft,” Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) told CNN on Tuesday. “We know that Air Force One is more than just a plane. It's also got secure communications.”

While the plane is free, modifying it to make it usable would come with a hefty price tag of hundreds of millions of dollars. According to lawmakers and former Air Force officials, the plane would need to be rebuilt to make sure it does not have any bugs hidden in its hardware and so that the military can install needed secure communications and security technologies on the plane.

Joe Gould contributed to this report.