U.S. Congressman Ted Lieu (D-CA) is urging House Republicans to bring up a vote on whether or not President Donald Trump should accept a luxury jet from the government of Qatar.
Trump has said he “would never be one to turn down that kind of an offer” and explained: “I could be a stupid person and say, ‘no, we don’t want a free, very expensive airplane.’”
Lieu wrote on X: “Trump wants to accept a 15-year-old used Qatari jet that would require $1 billion in upgrades. Under the Constitution, Congress needs to vote to allow such a ‘gift.’ Urging Republican leadership to bring up a vote.” He added, “That’s what the Constitution requires.”
Trump wants to accept a 15-year-old used Qatari jet that would require $1 billion in upgrades.
Under the Constitution, Congress needs to vote to allow such a “gift.” Urging Republican leadership to bring up a vote. pic.twitter.com/KjC6Hk5Nfr
— Rep. Ted Lieu (@RepTedLieu) May 19, 2025
It’s not just Democrats who disapprove of the President of the United States accepting a $400 million gift from a foreign nation: Trump’s former vice president Mike Pence and former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley have both said it was “a bad idea.”
Prominent MAGA personalities including Laura Loomer (“We cannot accept a $400 million ‘gift’ from jihadists in suits”) and Ben Shapiro (“It just isn’t America first in any conceivable way”) have also voiced their opposition.
Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) and Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) last year both introduced legislation that would prohibit U.S. officials from accepting such gifts from foreign governments without congressional consent, but the bills did not advance.
Trump has positioned the Qatari offer as a gift to the U.S. government, not a gift to him personally, which would put it in a different category and outside — perhaps — the restrictions on emoluments. Early details about the gift contemplated transferring ownership of the jet from the U.S. to Trump — or Trump’s presidential library — after Boeing delivers a new Air Force One aircraft.