Van Hollen, Alsobrooks, Colleagues Introduce Resolution Condemning Trump's Acceptance of Luxury Plane from Qatar
Today, U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen and Angela Alsobrooks (both D-Md.) joined Senators Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) and Chris Coons (D-Del.) in introducing a resolution in the Senate condemning President Trump’s announcement that he will accept a luxury airplane, valued at $400 million from the government of Qatar. According to reports, Trump intends to designate the plane as Air Force One while in office and then transfer it to a foundation for personal use following the end of his term.
“Trump’s brazen willingness to accept a luxury jet from Qatar raises the dangerous prospect that the president can be bought and paid for by foreign powers — putting their interests over Americans’ and our national security. Every Senator should join us in rejecting it and blocking the sale of the presidency to the highest bidder,” said Senator Van Hollen, a member of the Senate Appropriations and Foreign Relations Committees.
“We're beyond foreign interference at this point. We're watching a President invite a foreign government to buy him off,” said Senator Alsobrooks. “American values are actively being flushed down the toilet by this corrupt President."
“Air Force One is more than just a plane — it’s a symbol of the presidency and of the United States itself,” said Senator Schatz. “Any president who accepts this kind of gift, valued at $400 million, from a foreign government creates a clear conflict of interest, raises serious national security questions, invites foreign influence, and undermines public trust in our government. We are asking the Senate to vote to reiterate a basic principle: no president should use public service for personal gain through foreign gifts.”
“We wouldn’t trust another country to decorate the Oval Office, to set up our Situation Room, or to wire the White House briefing room, so why would we let another country build Air Force One for us, which is an airborne version of all three? This isn’t just a massive act of corruption, it’s a national security risk of the highest order,” said Senator Coons, Ranking Member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense. “If President Trump is so willing to put his own administration in danger for the sake of a $400 million gift, imagine how much danger he’s willing to put the American people in.”
In addition to Senators Van Hollen, Alsobrooks, Schatz and Coons, the resolution is cosponsored by Democratic Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and U.S. Senators Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawai‘i), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.), Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.), Angus King (I-Maine), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), and Andy Kim (D-N.J.).
The full text of the resolution is available here.