The Trump administration is preparing to accept a superluxury Boeing 747-8 jumbo jet from the royal family of Qatar as a gift to be used by President Donald Trump as the new Air Force One for presidential travel until shortly before Trump leaves office, according to four sources familiar with the planning.
Two of the sources also confirm that ownership of the plane will be transferred to the Trump presidential library foundation once the president ends his second term.
According to one of the sources, the arrangement will be done according to U.S. and international laws, in observance of ethics rules. That official said it will take some time for the plane to be delivered to Trump but that the president will discuss the arrangement during his visit to Qatar this week.
Another one of the sources said the idea of gifting Trump this specific plane has been under discussion for “quite some time” and that when the formal offer was made more recently, the president “happily accepted.”
ABC News first reported the gift.
It comes ahead of the president’s first foreign trip of his second term, in which he will travel to Saudi Arabia this week and also make stops in the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.
While in Qatar, Trump is expected to deliver a speech and then talk with American troops at the Al Udeid Air Base, according to two U.S. officials.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is expected to accompany Trump during his stop at the base.
This is the second time Trump has decided to visit Saudi Arabia for his first foreign trip. He chose the same nation as his first stop in 2017, during his first term.
Courtney Kube and Alexandra Marquez contributed.
