Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., placed a hold on all Department of Justice (DOJ) political nominees after President Donald Trump announced he’s accepting a $400 million Boeing 747 jumbo jet from Qatar. The hold will significantly delay, if not halt, the confirmation of key appointees at the DOJ.
Schumer announced that he won’t release the hold until Attorney General Pam Bondi explains her reasoning for saying that accepting the jet does not violate federal law.
“How is this gift not naked corruption?” Schumer said during a floor speech. “The attorney general must testify before both the House and Senate to explain why gifting Donald Trump a private jet does not violate the emoluments clause, which requires congressional approval, and ethics laws.”
.@SenSchumer: "In light of the deeply troubling news of a possible Qatari-funded Air Force One and the reports that the Attorney General personally signed off on this clearly unethical deal I am announcing a hold on all DOJ political nominees until we get more answers." pic.twitter.com/0TFPTWnxJM
— CSPAN (@cspan) May 13, 2025
The jet will be used as Air Force One, then transferred to the Trump Presidential Library Foundation after the president leaves office.
What’s the emoluments clause?
The emoluments clause prohibits anyone in government from accepting a present from any “King, Prince or foreign state,” without Congressional consent.
According to ABC News, Bondi signed off on a plan to get around that. It would not be considered a gift to Trump because it would belong to the federal government and his presidential library foundation. She also claims it’s not a bribe because it is not dependent on a formal act.
“What is most chilling about this brazen bribe and the national security betrayal is how openly Donald Trump is doing it,” Schumer said. “How he is lying about this need for this aircraft and the risks involved.”
How many nominees is Schumer blocking?
According to the Partnership for Public Service, there are currently seven pending nominations, including associate attorney general, assistant attorney general for the civil division, and director of the U.S. Marshals Service. There are at least a dozen other positions that don’t yet have a nominee.
Schumer also wants the DOJ’s Foreign Agent Registration Act unit to disclose all activities by Qatari foreign agents inside the U.S. that could benefit the president or the Trump organization.
Some Republicans didn’t raise any objections to accepting the jet.
“At the end of the day, they’re trying to be nice with an American-made product,” Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., said.
Meanwhile, Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., believes they should build a new Air Force One from scratch in America.
“I think maybe the thing to do is to say, ‘Hey, we appreciate it, but there’s a lot of things you could help us out with,’ like stopping coddling Islamic fundamentalist terrorists in their own country,” Hawley said. “It’s worth the investment here in this country to build a big, beautiful jet here in the United States.”
According to ABC News, the aircraft will be transferred to the Trump library by January 2029 and all costs associated with the transfer will be covered by the Air Force.
