The United States on Wednesday officially accepted a luxury jet from Qatar to use as Air Force One, the Defense Department confirmed to\u00a0NewsNation on Wednesday. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe Secretary of Defense [Pete Hegseth] has accepted a Boeing 747 from Qatar in accordance with all federal rules and regulations,\u201d chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said in a statement to Tanya Noury, senior White House producer at The Hill’s sister network.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Department of Defense will work to ensure proper security measures and functional-mission requirements are considered for an aircraft used to transport the President of the United States,\u201d he added, referring further questions to the Air Force.<\/p>\n
The Qatari gift was also raised at President Trump’s meeting with South Africa’s president at the White House on Wednesday. Trump shot down the question and repeatedly insulted the reporter who asked about criticism around the jet.<\/p>\n
Trump last week said he would accept the $400 million luxury Boeing 747-8, previously used by the Qatari royal family, as a stand-in for the aging Air Force One fleet.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The plane – which is one of the largest foreign gifts ever accepted by a U.S. president – has been criticized by U.S. lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, who say it raises both ethical and security questions.<\/p>\n
Numerous Republicans have argued that the purportedly free jet comes with strings, given it will need to go through the lengthy and expensive process of being transformed into Air Force One.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Others have raised safety concerns about the jet, including a group of senior Democratic senators led by Sen.\u00a0Adam Schiff\u00a0<\/a>(D-Calif.), who\u00a0want the Pentagon\u2019s watchdog<\/a>\u00a0to look into the Defense Department\u2019s acceptance of the gifted plane and the Defense Department\u2019s role in the transfer.\u00a0<\/p>\n Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.),\u00a0has said<\/a>\u00a0using the plane as Air Force One \u201cwould pose immense counterintelligence risks by granting a foreign nation potential access to sensitive systems and communications.\u201d<\/p>\n But Trump has defended his decision to accept the jet, arguing it is legal and dismissing the bipartisan criticism as a \u201cradical left story.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI just want to say, it was a radical left story,\u201d\u00a0Trump told<\/a>\u00a0Fox News\u2019s Bret Baier in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, during a stop on his diplomatic trip to the Middle East last week. \u201cThe people here, to show you how crazy it is, they would like me to pay a billion dollars.\u201d<\/p>\n