Despite the previous statements of the Department of Defense that the United States has officially accepted the luxurious Jumbo Boeing 747-8 plane from Qatar, the United States and Qatar have not yet ended the details of the agreement, which are still being reviewed by the possible legal teams, according to a White House official and sources familiar with the discussions.
A White House official declared that the White House Legal Team is currently ending the gift details, working in an understanding memorandum, or Mou, between the United States and Qatar. The Washington Post First reported the news.
The Qatar plane is currently in the United States, according to sources familiar with the matter, as well as President Donald Trump, who confirmed that the plane was here. However, Qatar wants to clarify the details surrounding the transfer, specifically emphasizing that the Trump administration was responsible for initiating discussions about the donation of the luxury plane to the United States government, sources familiar with negotiations said sources.
“As the president said, this will be a sovereign gift of the United States Air Force,” said White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly, in a statement.
When asked about the details of the plane and its transfer on Thursday, the White House Press Secretary, Karoline Leavitt, repeated that it is a “governance gift to government.”
“This is a transfer of government gifts to the Department of Defense to the United States Air Force. It is now in their hands. And for more details about where it is, it would differ from the Department of Defense and the United States Air Force,” Leavitt said during the information about the White House press.
As ABC News first reported earlier this month, the plane is expected to be available for Trump as the new Air Force One until shortly before the position, at which time the property of the plane is expected to be transferred to the foundation of the Trump Presidential Library, they told ABC News with ABC News.
President Donald Trump smiles on the stage of the Air Base Al Udeid, on May 15, 2025, in Doha, Qatar.
Alex Brandon/AP
Last week, Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said the Pentagon had officially accepted the Qatar luxury jet.
“The Secretary of Defense has accepted a Boeing 747 of Qatar according to all federal rules and regulations,” said Parnell, added that the Defense Department “would work to ensure that appropriate security measures and functional mission requirements are considered for an aircraft used to transport the president of the United States.”
The Trump administration plan to accept the luxury JET donated by the Qatar government to use as the One Air Force has raised significant security concerns, according to intelligence experts and government officials.
Democratic legislators have expressed concern that the plane could raise significant security risks and potentially grant access to a foreign nation to sensitive systems and communications, raising counterintelligence problems. On the contrary, Republican legislators have questioned the president’s decision to accept a gift from a foreign nation, also raising intelligence concerns.
“Any building or vehicle or plane found by the president is a high value objective for foreign intelligence services that wish to collect so much information about the president,” said John Cohen, a news collaborator of ABC and former interim national security official.
For his part, Trump said “it would be stupid” not to accept the free plane and has called the Qatar gift as a “very pleasant gesture.”
“It would never be one to reject that type of offer,” Trump said earlier this month. “I mean, I could be a stupid person and say: ‘No, we don’t want a free and very expensive plane.’ But it was, I thought it was a great gesture.”
