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President Trump’s administration has forged ahead with a plane to accept a luxury jet from Qatar\u2014despite concerns about its constitutionality.<\/span>Samuel Corum\/Pool\/CNP\/ZUMA<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n So much for <\/span>the Constitution. <\/p>\n The Trump administration has accepted the offer of a free jet from Qatar<\/a> despite ample concerns from both Democrats and Republicans<\/a> that the gift would potentially violate the Emoluments Clause of the Constitution, which prohibits<\/a>\u00a0any person holding elected office from accepting gifts\u00a0\u201cfrom any King, Prince, or foreign State.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Sean Parnell, chief spokesperson for the Pentagon, confirmed in a statement to Mother Jones<\/em> on Wednesday afternoon that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had <\/strong>accepted the Boeing 747. \u201cThe Department of Defense will work to ensure proper security measures and functional-mission requirements are considered for an aircraft used to transport the President of the United States,\u201d Parnell added. He directed further questions to the Air Force, whose spokesperson said the branch was \u201cpreparing to award a contract to modify a Boeing 747 aircraft for executive airlift,\u201d adding that details related to the contract are classified. The plane will require security upgrades that would take \u201cyears, not months\u201d to complete, according to a Defense Department official who previously spoke<\/a> to the New York Times<\/em>.<\/p>\n The gift is among the largest foreign gifts the United States has ever received and has drawn sharp condemnation over the clear ethical questions it poses. In an apparent effort to minimize such concerns, Trump has claimed that he will eventually transfer the plane to his presidential library once his term ends and denied that he would use it for personal travel. But Trump has not offered any concrete legal assurances binding him to those promises. As\u00a0Mother Jones\u00a0<\/em>reported<\/a>\u00a0last week, he would face few restrictions on using it even if he hands it over to his library foundation.<\/p>\n This, of course, is a pattern for the president. Trump and his allies have similarly claimed that leftover funds from the $250 million raised for his inauguration, money raised by a pro-Trump PAC hosting one-on-one meetings with the president for up to $5 million, and settlements paid by media companies he has sued will all go to his library fund. But Trump has yet to present details on how those funds would be transferred.\u00a0Nor has his office addressed concerns<\/a> that the library foundation could effectively function as a slush fund to provide him and his family with things like <\/strong>salaries, office space or transportation.<\/p>\n The Trump administration\u2019s characterization of the jet, which it has repeatedly portrayed as a gift, also appears suspect. As CNN reported<\/a> this week, it was the Trump administration that first asked Qatar about potentially buying the plane in light of long-delayed upgrades to Air Force One that remain ongoing. But the White House has insisted otherwise. On Monday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt claimed that Qatar\u00a0\u201chas offered to donate this plane to the United States Air Force, where that donation will be accepted according to all legal and ethical obligations.\u201d<\/p>\n