US Senator Susan Collins, Republican from Maine, questions Secretary of Well being and Human Companies Robert F. Kennedy Jr., throughout a Senate Committee on Well being, Training, Labor, and Pensions listening to on the President’s proposed finances request for fiscal 12 months 2026 for the Division of Well being and Human Companies, on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, Might 14, 2025.
Jim Watson | Afp | Getty Pictures
Sen. Susan Collins of Maine on Thursday captured the rising sense of frustration amongst Republicans in Congress over President Donald Trump‘s plan to simply accept a $400 million jet from the royal household of Qatar to be transformed into Air Power One.
“The transaction strikes me as being rife with political espionage, moral and constitutional issues,” Collins stated In an interview with NBC Information.
“The airplane must be totally scrubbed to make sure that listening gadgets had not been implanted. That may take quite a lot of time, to ensure that it meets the safety requirements that the president wants,” she added.
“Finally, I do not perceive why we’d pursue this for the brand new plane that the president wants.”
Collins stated that whereas she understands Trump’s “frustration” with Boeing taking a very long time to provide a brand new presidential airplane, she doesn’t assume a present jet is the proper resolution.
When requested if Congress ought to vote on the legality of the reward, Collins stated she has not heard of any plans to take action.
FILE – A Boeing 747 with the colour scheme of planes utilized by the Qatari royal household is seen Friday, Might 2, 2025 at San Antonio Worldwide Airport in San Antonio, Texas.
Brandon Lingle | The San Antonio Specific-Information | AP
Trump’s determination to simply accept the reward has sparked fierce controversy over the legality, ethics and nationwide safety implications of what can be the biggest overseas reward ever obtained by the U.S. authorities.
Trump has stated the airplane might be formally given to the U.S. Division of Protection, after which transferred to his presidential library basis on the finish of his second time period. This manner, the palatial jet isn’t owned personally by Trump.
On Tuesday, Senate Minority Chief Chuck Schumer introduced that he’s placing a maintain on Trump’s nominees to Division of Justice political appointments to protest the jet reward, calling it a “grave nationwide safety risk.”
Earlier this week, Republican Sen. Ron Johnson, Wisc., referred to as the reward “a really odd provide.” One other Republican, Sen. Rand Paul, Ky., stated on Fox Information that he hopes the president will reject it.
Collins additionally questioned the timeline and necessity of Trump getting a brand new Air Power One which can not even be completed its retrofitting right into a presidential airplane by the point his time period ends.
“That is difficult,” she added.