The top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee has warned Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth that he could be “on the hook” for hundreds of millions of dollars for having accepted a luxury jet from the Qatari government.
In a letter sent Wednesday, Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) argued that Hegseth’s formal acceptance of the Boeing 747 jetliner last month — a move made so the Air Force can upgrade its security measures so it may eventually be used as Air Force One — violates the Constitution Emoluments Clause. The rule bars federal officials from accepting financial benefits from foreign governments without congressional approval.
“I write now to urge and advise you to promptly mitigate these violations—and your own personal legal exposure—by either returning the plane to the Qatari government or promptly seeking Congress’s consent to accept it,” Raskin wrote.
The Pentagon announced on May 21 it officially accepted the 13-year-old luxury jet previously used by the Qatari royal family, a supposed “free,” gift that could be used to supplement the aging Air Force One fleet, according to President Trump.
The transfer has been criticized by U.S. lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, who say it raises ethical and corruption questions in addition to costing taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars to retrofit the plane into a secure and working Air Force One.
Others have focused on the national security risks of such a gift, saying the aircraft would have to be swept for listening devices. Some have worried that in Trump’s push to use the plane before he leaves office, the Air Force will rush security upgrades and cut corners on protection systems.
A former professor of constitutional law and former ranking member of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, Raskin has focused his criticisms on the ethical issues around accepting the Qatari plane, repeatedly arguing that it requires congressional approval.
“The Constitution is perfectly clear: no present ‘of any kind whatever’ from a foreign state without Congressional permission,” Raskin wrote on the social platform X last month after news of the gift broke.
Congress has the authority to block federal officials from receiving gifts from foreign governments, as granted in the Constitution, but the government arm has not held any formal vote to accept the plane or not.
Democrats largely have been unsuccessful in stopping Trump from accepting the Qatari jet. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) last month attempted to pass a bill that would bar the use of a foreign jet as Air Force One, but that effort failed.
Raskin, along with other Democrat lawmakers, have introduced resolutions to condemn the gift, but Republicans have blocked them from being considered on the floor.
Making matters more complicated, Democrats, given their status as the minority party, can’t convene any oversight hearings that would force government officials to testify on the issue, and their colleagues across the aisle have not called any such hearings themselves.
In his letter, Raskin says Hegseth is in violation of the Foreign Gifts and Decorations Act, which could prompt the Attorney General to bring civil action and penalties against him.
Under that law, government officials can accept certain gifts up to $480 in value, and they cannot “request or otherwise encourage the tender of a gift or decoration” from another country.
In violating the act, Hegseth can face a penalty “not to exceed the retail value of the gift improperly solicited or received plus $5,000.”
“In other words, you may be on the hook for $400 million (plus $5,000) even for a jumbo jet that you accepted on behalf of the President but do not get to personally enjoy,” Raskin writes, referring to the cost of a new Boeing 747-8 jet.
“If you truly believe that there is nothing untoward about the President asking for and receiving a $400 million ‘flying palace’ from a foreign power, then you should let Congress and the President’s Republican colleagues vote to approve the transaction,” he adds. “If you’re unwilling to do that, you must return the plane to Qatar.”
