A White House official has stated that "no final decision has been made yet" regarding the future of a new Air Force One jet donated by Qatar, following President Donald Trump's second term. The comments come amid conflicting reports about the planned disposition of the aircraft.
President Trump had previously stated his intention to transfer the new Air Force One, a Boeing 747-8, to his presidential library after his term concluded. Sources familiar with the arrangement had indicated that ownership of the plane would be transferred to the Donald J. Trump Presidential Library Foundation shortly before Trump leaves office.
However, recent reports have raised questions about the plane's ultimate fate. Eric Trump, who is involved in the development of his father's presidential library in Miami, reportedly communicated via text message that the plan was not for the gifted jet to be delivered to the library. According to NBC News, he suggested that an older, decommissioned Air Force One jet would be designated for the library instead.
The Qatari royal family's donation of the luxury jet, valued at approximately $400 million, represents an unprecedented foreign gift and has drawn scrutiny from some lawmakers and ethics experts. The U.S. Air Force had initially estimated the cost to retrofit the plane to meet security standards at under $400 million, though the total amount spent to date remains unclear.
The Air Force had been modifying the jet since September to meet the security, communication, and other requirements necessary for transporting the president. Many details of these retrofitting efforts are classified. Prior to the jet's first presidential flight in July, the Air Force confirmed these modifications.
President Trump himself had previously commented on the plane's future. In May 2025, he told ABC News' Rachel Scott that the plane would be sent "directly" to his presidential library after he leaves office and that he would not be using it. He has referenced former President Ronald Reagan's library, where a Boeing 707 Air Force One jet was retired in 2001, as a model for his own. "Someday, it will be like Ronald Reagan, they decommission them," Trump said at the time. "It'll go to my library. They're talking about going to my library in years out."