A 13-year-old private Boeing aircraft that President Donald Trump toured in May takes off from Palm Beach International Airport, Feb. 16, 2025, in West Palm Beach, Fla. (Ben Curtis/AP)
WASHINGTON — Democratic lawmakers are demanding answers from Air Force Secretary Troy Meink on whether funds for a nuclear modernization program are being raided to pay for retrofits to the luxury jet that Qatar gifted to President Donald Trump.
Meink told senators earlier this year that the $400 million Boeing 747-8 jumbo jet will need “significant modifications” to meet Air Force One standards and reports in recent weeks indicate the funding for them will come from the Air Force’s Sentinel nuclear missile program.
The program to replace America’s ground-launched nuclear missile system is already delayed by several years and 81% over budget. Lawmakers from both parties have long expressed concerns about its mismanagement and ballooning costs.
“Now, our concerns, and those of other members, appear to be prescient as part of the Sentinel program’s bloated budget is being redirected to an unintended purpose: retrofitting the Qatari luxury jet to serve as Air Force One — and subsequently, after he has left office, as the Trump library’s private plane,” lawmakers wrote in a letter to Meink.
The letter was signed by Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Tammy Duckworth of Illinois, Ed Markey of Massachusetts and Adam Schiff of California as well as Reps. John Garamendi of California and Jamie Raskin of Maryland.
The lawmakers said the Air Force has yet to provide Congress with the information it needs to ensure the Qatari jet retrofit is not endangering funds needed for the Sentinel program and other critical Air Force initiatives.
The price tag for the retrofit is classified but some lawmakers have speculated it will cost $1 billion to make the plane safe for transporting the president, including installing defenses against surface-to-air missiles, secure communications systems and protections against counterintelligence.
Meink has said the retrofit will not cost “anywhere near” $1 billion, telling the House Armed Services Committee in June that the actual cost will probably be less than $400 million.
But lawmakers said they were disturbed by reports that the Air Force had recently assessed $934 million previously appropriated for the Sentinel program as “excess to need,” meaning the money could instead be used to pay for other classified programs, including the Qatari jet retrofit.
“It appears that funds for programs that the Air Force has continually claimed are among its top national security priorities are now being used as accounts for presidential whims, while the egregious lack of transparency hides the true costs of these programs from taxpayers,” lawmakers wrote.
They are asking Meink to respond by Aug. 20 to a list of questions about the retrofit, how it will be funded and any impacts on the Sentinel program.
“The Air Force should provide Congress with the information it needs to ensure that taxpayer funds are not being wasted,” lawmakers wrote.
