Several Republican senators have expressed misgivings about the Trump administration’s plans to accept a Qatari jet for the president to eventually use as Air Force One, noting the potential for security and legal risks.
Texas Sen. John Cornyn told CNN that he assumes President Donald Trump has “good legal advice” so he’s not worried about the constitutionality of accepting the free plane, but he added, “I do have concerns about the security issues, even though it was built by Boeing, and it’s now down in San Antonio, my hometown.”
“I just know that our adversaries are pretty creative at planting all sorts of listing devices and other sensors. So, I’d be very concerned about that,” he said.
South Dakota Sen. Mike Rounds, a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, compared the jet to a Trojan horse.
“This aircraft is beautiful, and it would be great if we could accept it, but security concerns are also there,” he said.
When pressed on whether the jet would violate the Constitution’s Foreign Emoluments Clause, which bans foreign payments to a sitting US president, Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski said “I think that’s exactly the question that needs to be asked, to determine if it is a violation.”
She said, “When you get something of that value from a country, one typically thinks that there’s something in it for the country that is offering it. So I think there’s certainly a lot of questions.”
Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader John Thune continued to downplay the potential use of a Qatari jet for Air Force One as a “hypothetical,” but insisted there will be “plenty of scrutiny” if the plan goes through.
House Speaker Mike Johnson also weighed in on the Qatari jet, saying Trump should “do a careful check for security concerns.” He added that the gift was not unconstitutional because it is “effectively, a gift to the United States, not to the President as an individual.”
This post has been updated with additional details.