Representative Jamie Raskin, the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, stated that former President Donald Trump cannot keep a Boeing 757 gifted by Qatar, which has been modified for use as a presidential aircraft. Raskin asserted that the U.S. Constitution prohibits presidents from receiving such gifts from foreign states without the consent of Congress.
Trump unveiled the jet, which he plans to use after leaving office and eventually donate to his presidential library, last week. However, Raskin was unequivocal when asked if Trump could retain the aircraft. "No, he does not," Raskin said, citing the Constitution's foreign emoluments clause. This clause stipulates that without congressional consent, a president cannot accept any present, payment, office, or title of any kind from a foreign monarch or state.
Raskin explained that the approximately $400 million jet must be turned over to Congress for disposition, which could involve returning it to Qatar or repurposing it. He drew a parallel to President Abraham Lincoln's decision to cede elephant tusks received from the King of Siam to the State Department, calling it the proper procedure for handling foreign gifts.
"Every other president has come to Congress to ask whether they can keep one of these foreign gifts from a government or a king or a prince," Raskin noted. "President Trump should be no different. He's got to come to us too. And if not, we'll just have to requisition it and confiscate it."
Ethics concerns surrounding the aircraft, which Trump has maintained is a gift to the Department of Defense rather than to him personally, surfaced when the gift was initially reported last year. Richard Briffault, a professor at Columbia Law School, previously told NPR that if the plane ultimately resides in Trump's presidential library, it would not be considered a gift to the United States. He characterized such an acceptance as a potential violation of the Emoluments Clause.