US Senator Susan Collins, Republican from Maine, questions Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr., during a Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions hearing on the President’s proposed budget request for fiscal year 2026 for the Department of Health and Human Services, on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, May 14, 2025.
Jim Watson | Afp | Getty Images
Sen. Susan Collins of Maine on Thursday captured the growing sense of frustration among Republicans in Congress over President Donald Trump’s plan to accept a $400 million jet from the royal family of Qatar to be converted into Air Force One.
“The transaction strikes me as being rife with political espionage, ethical and constitutional problems,” Collins said in an interview with NBC News.
“The plane would have to be thoroughly scrubbed to ensure that listening devices had not been implanted. That would take a great deal of time, to make sure that it meets the security standards that the president needs,” she added.
“Ultimately, I don’t understand why we would pursue this for the new aircraft that the president needs.”
Collins said that while she understands Trump’s “frustration” with Boeing taking a long time to produce a new presidential plane, she does not think a gift jet is the right solution.
FILE – A Boeing 747 with the color scheme of planes used by the Qatari royal family is seen Friday, May 2, 2025 at San Antonio International Airport in San Antonio, Texas.
Brandon Lingle | The San Antonio Express-News | AP
Trump’s decision to accept the gift has sparked fierce controversy over the legality, ethics and national security implications of what would be the largest foreign gift ever received by the U.S. government.
Earlier this week, Republican Sen. Ron Johnson, Wisc., called the gift “a very odd offer.” Another Republican, Sen. Rand Paul, Ky., said on Fox News that he hopes the president will reject it.
Senate Democrats on Thursday introduced a joint resolution of disapproval to block a $1.9 billion arms sale to Qatar, in response to Trump’s decision to accept the jet gift.
“This isn’t a gift out of the goodness of their hearts – it’s an illegal bribe that the President of the United States is champing at the bit to accept,” Sen. Chris Murphy, Conn., said in a statement.
“That’s unconstitutional and not how we conduct foreign policy. Unless Qatar rescinds their offer of a ‘palace in the sky’ or Trump turns it down, I will move to block this arms sale.” The resolution was co-sponsored by Sens. Tim Kaine, Va., Chris Van Hollen, Md., and Brian Schatz of Hawaii. Joining them was Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont.
On Tuesday, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., announced that he is putting a hold on Trump’s nominees to the Department of Justice to protest the jet gift, calling it a “grave national security threat.”
Trump has said the plane will be formally given to the U.S. Department of Defense, and then transferred to his presidential library foundation at the end of his second term. This way, the palatial jet is never owned personally by Trump.
Collins also questioned the timeline and necessity of Trump getting a new Air Force One, which may not even be finished with its retrofitting into a presidential plane by the time his term ends.
“This is complicated,” she added.
