Trump administration formally accepts gift jet from Qatar

The Trump administration has formally accepted a Boeing 747 jet that was gifted to the U.S. by the government of Qatar, the Pentagon said Wednesday.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth accepted the luxury plane "in accordance with all federal rules and regulations," Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statement to CNBC.

The Department of Defense will work to ensure that the jet, which President Donald Trump has said he wants to use as the new Air Force One, fulfills "proper security measures and functional-mission requirements," Parnell said.

The announcement cements the U.S. government's intention to take the plane, despite experts' warnings and Democrats' accusations of bribery.

In the Oval Office on Wednesday, Trump called the gift "a great thing" and said Qatar handed over the plane "so they could help us out."

The remarks came during an at times tense debate with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa about Trump's unsubstantiated claims of a "genocide" against white people in South Africa.

"I am sorry I don't have a plane to give you," Ramaphosa said at one point.

Boeing has spent years working to convert two 747s into the next Air Force Ones in a deal struck during Trump's first term as president. But the project is years behind schedule, and the planes may not be ready before the end of Trump's second term.

Trump administration officials earlier this year said the president was frustrated with that pace and considering alternatives. "Boeing's a little late, unfortunately," Trump said Wednesday.

Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg told analysts on his company's latest quarterly earnings call in April that its Air Force One program is being revised "to allow for an earlier first delivery while maintaining our focus on safety and quality."

It's far from clear if the 13-year-old Qatari jet, which has been valued at $400 million, could truly offer a quick fix.

Experts have said that converting that jet into an Air Force One could cost taxpayers over $1 billion and take years to complete.

Qatar's gift has also raised swells of anger from Democrats and other critics, some of whom have condemned the exchange as effectively a bribe of a U.S. president.

"This unprecedented action is a stain on the office of the presidency and cannot go unanswered," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said in a statement Wednesday.

Schumer — who has introduced a bill that would bar any foreign aircraft from being used as Air Force One — vowed to continue holding up Trump's political nominees to the Department of Justice until Americans "get transparency on this shady deal."

Even some Republicans have raised concerns about the potential national security risks and other issues surrounding the gift.

"The transaction strikes me as being rife with political espionage, ethical and constitutional problems," Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, said Thursday.

But Trump has repeatedly defended accepting the plane, saying it would be "stupid" not to accept a free jet and insisting that it is going to the U.S. government, "not to me."

— CNBC's Leslie Josephs contributed to this report.