Today, Rep. Gerald E. Connolly, Ranking Member of the Committee on Oversight and Government reform, sent a letter to White House Counsel David Warrington demanding all documents and information pertaining to President Trump’s intention to accept a $400 million plane from the Qatari government and urging the White House to immediately decline this “gift.”
Accepting this gift from a foreign state without congressional approval is a clear violation of the Constitution’s Foreign Emoluments Clause and demonstrates President Trump’s desire to enrich himself while holding office at the expense of the American people.
“I write regarding alarming reports that President Trump intends to accept a luxury airplane as a gift from the Qatari ruling family—a transaction that, according to one leading ethics expert, ‘would probably be the largest gift given to a U.S. president by a foreign government in modern history.’ The gift of this aircraft—reportedly worth $400 million—to the President by a foreign state, absent congressional approval, would clearly violate the Constitution’s Foreign Emoluments Clause. In addition to the profoundly irresponsible, reckless and dangerous national security concerns that this arrangement raises, this proposed deal, if executed, would be patently illegal and corrupt and would advertise to our allies and adversaries that the President of the United States simply cannot resist an opportunity to enrich himself and has placed the White House up for sale. The Trump Administration must conduct U.S. foreign policy in the interest of the American people— and not the interests of foreign governments that enrich the President. I urge you to immediately decline this corrupt, foreign gift,” wrote Ranking Member Connolly.
A January 2024 report by the Oversight Committee Democrats found that during his first term, President Trump’s businesses pocketed over $7.8 million from foreign governments— including the government of Qatar. These profits have multiplied in the second Trump term, including as recently as April of this year, when the Trump Organization announced a deal to build a new Trump golf resort in Qatar. These private business dealings reflect the Trump Administration’s blatant conflicts of interest.
“Qatar’s proposed donation of a $400 million ‘palace in the sky’ to President Trump only heightens concerns about the influence of foreign governments over the President’s actions, and has been widely recognized by the public for what it is: the Qatari government’s clear attempt for the luxury plane to exclusively benefit and curry the favor of Donald Trump,” added Ranking Member Connolly.
To adequately evaluate the extent to which President Trump has violated the Constitution, Ranking Member Connolly has requested all relevant documentation and answers to his inquiries no later than May 29th, 2025.
Click here to read the letter to Counsel to the President, David Warrington.
