Senate GOP Blocks Schumer Bill After Pentagon Accepts Qatari Jet for Trump

Just hours after the Pentagon formally accepted a luxury jet for U.S. President Donald Trump from Qatar, Senate Republicans thwarted Minority Leader Chuck Schumer's attempt to pass by unanimous consent legislation intended to prevent a foreign plane from serving as Air Force One.

Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) blocked Schumer's (D-N.Y.) Presidential Airlift Security Act, which the Democratic leader had announced on Tuesday—along with vowing to continue a "hold on all political Department of Justice nominees until we get more answers about this clearly unethical deal."

The jet is "the largest foreign gift to an American president in modern history, one Donald Trump says will go to his presidential library after his term," Schumer said on the Senate floor Wednesday. "This gift is outrageous. Donald Trump will berate companies to ' eat his tariffs' and tell parents to pay more for groceries, but is accepting a luxury plane he can use as Air Force One."

"This gift screams national security risk. It is bribery in broad daylight. Donald Trump is thumbing his nose at Republicans and practically daring them to stop him. Well, today, the Senate can," he said, just before Marshall blocked the bill's passage. "Donald Trump accepting this gift reeks of corruption and naked self-enrichment, and Republicans should stand up and support my bill, defend national security, and protect Americans."

The legislation would have prohibited "even a single taxpayer dollar from being used by the Department of Defense to procure, modify, retrofit, or maintain any foreign aircraft for the purposes of transporting a U.S. president," the senator said.

Schumer's remarks followed the chief Pentagon spokesperson, Sean Parnell, confirming receipt of the plane in a Wednesday statement.

"The secretary of defense has accepted a Boeing 747 from Qatar in accordance with all federal rules and regulations," Parnell said. "The 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."

Asked about the Pentagon's statement by NBC News' Peter Alexander at the White House on Wednesday, Trump said: "You oughta get out of here. What does this have to do with the Qatari jet? They're giving the United States Air Force a jet, OK, and it's a great thing."

The gifted jet—valued at $ 200-400 million—has sparked widespread concerns, with critics calling Trump "grifter-in-chief" and condemning his plan to use taxpayer dollars to modify the plane so that it can serve as Air Force One, then transfer it to his library upon leaving office, as "indefensible," "incredibly illegal," and "comically corrupt."

According to The New York Times:

Qatar's prime minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, publicly said on Monday for the first time that his government had approved turning over the plane as a gift, rejecting the idea of it being an attempt to influence the president.

"I don't know why people, they are thinking," he said, before continuing: "This is considered as a bribery or considered as, something that Qatar wants to buy and influence with this administration. I don't see any, honestly, a valid reason for that."

He added: "We are a country that would like to have strong partnership and strong friendship, and anything that we provide to any country, it's provided out of respect for this partnership and it's a two-way relationship. It's mutually beneficial for Qatar and for the United States."

"It's a bribe. It's a national security threat," Schumer said on social media Wednesday evening. "But Republicans stood with Trump and blocked my bill. THAT'S NOT AMERICA FIRST."

Meanwhile, in the Republican-controlled lower chamber of Congress, House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) expanded his probe into the Qatari plane, demanding answers from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Trump's special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, by June 4.

"Please provide all documents and communications related to the $400 million ultraluxury airplane, including any communications, agreements, or draft agreements with the state of Qatar, L3Harris, and the Palm Beach Airport as soon as possible," Raskin also wrote. "The information and documents you provide will help us determine whether the $400 million ultraluxury 'gift,' already suffering from insurmountable ethical, constitutional, and logistical problems, is the result of a campaign of illegal extortion by this administration."