Murphy Introduces Bill to Block Trump from Taking Qatari Jet With Him When He Leaves Office

WASHINGTON– U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) , a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, alongside U.S. Senators Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.) , Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) , Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) , Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) , Ed Markey (D-Mass.) , Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) , Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) , and Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) , introduced legislation to block President Trump from taking the luxury jumbo jet gifted by the Qatari government with him for his own personal use after he leaves office. The Luxury Jet Ethics and Transparency Act would bar Trump from transferring the jet away from the U.S. Air Force to his personal control – in line with the brazenly corrupt plan he, his administration, and his family cling to. The bill would also require an independent GAO review of the cost of the jet’s retrofit and the potential conflicts of interest and national security impacts of the president accepting a $400 million plane from a foreign country. “It’s hard to decide what’s worse: accepting a $400 million bribe from a foreign government or spending a billion dollars in American taxpayer money to put gold plating on that bribe,” said Murphy. “For Donald Trump, it’s not enough to sell our national security to enrich himself. He also has to steal from American taxpayers.” “Jumbo jet, jumbo corruption,” said Markey. “So let’s 86 this 747 transfer to Trump after he leaves office, and pass the Luxury Jet Ethics and Transparency Act .” "This President and his family are the most corrupt we’ve ever seen in the White House. And we know he will be corrupt as the day is long—planes, pardons, falsifying business records, and the list goes on. It is my responsibility, and the responsibility of Congress, to bar this President from transferring his new Qatari jet from the U.S. Air Force to his personal control. We need to take every possible step to stop this President from his own corruption. Our country deserves better," said Alsobrooks. “We cannot allow this brazen corruption to stand. American foreign policy decisions must be made based on the interests of our national security – not based on the highest bidder. Since the President wouldn’t reject the gift of a $400 million luxury jet, Congress must step in and prohibit Trump from transferring the jet away from the U.S. Air Force to his own personal control,” said Van Hollen. “Donald Trump has repeatedly used the Presidency to enrich himself and leave taxpayers with the bill—and it has to stop,” said Duckworth. “Accepting a foreign jet was a mistake from the start and a tremendous waste of resources. Trump burned through nearly half a billion taxpayer dollars, only to partially retrofit his Qatari-gifted 747 that is still less safe than the old Air Force One. Taxpayers deserve a guarantee that their money didn’t just go toward bankrolling needless upgrades for yet another private jet in this Grifter-in-Chief’s personal collection.” “Donald Trump and his regime are defined by rampant corruption, treating the presidency as a get-rich-quick scheme at the expense of the American people. Trump never should have been able to accept a $400 million gift from another country. Under no circumstances should he be able to keep a luxury jet, whose upgrades and retrofitting cost millions of taxpayer dollars, for his personal use. This common-sense legislation will ensure he cannot,” said Hirono. “President Trump continues to sell access and influence to the highest bidders. Without action, we stamp a Congressional seal of approval on this corruption,” said Merkley. “We need the Luxury Jet Ethics and Transparency Act because Americans deserve answers and accountability for the Trump Administration’s misuse of taxpayer funds for Trump’s luxury jumbo jet.” Murphy has led the charge in the Senate to call out the naked corruption of Trump accepting the Qatari jet. This month he sent a letter to the Secretary of the U.S. Air Force and a key government contractor to demand basic details about the jet’s costs to taxpayers, national security risks, and the questionable process the Trump administration pursued to upgrade the plane. When the Qatari gift was initially announced in June 2025, Murphy pushed Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth , Secretary of State Marco Rubio , and Secretary Meink to explain how much it would cost to retrofit the plane and why taxpayers should have to pay for the refurbishment if Trump plans to take the plane with him after he leaves office. Later that month, Murphy led his Senate Democratic colleagues in standing up against the corruption of our foreign policy by forcing a vote to block arms sales to Qatar. In July 2025, he introduced an amendment to the FY26 Defense Appropriations Bill to prevent the luxury jet from being transferred to the Trump presidential library after the president leaves office. The amendment was defeated in a party-line vote with every Republican voting to defeat the amendment and allow the transfer. Full text of the bill is available here .