Sponsors (89)
Records findings that accepting a foreign aircraft without Congress’s consent would violate the Foreign Emoluments Clause and pose fiscal and security risks.
The bill increases congressional oversight and highlights national-security and cost concerns about accepting a donated foreign aircraft — trading greater transparency and risk review for risks of politicization, potential disruption to presidential transport, and public budget uncertainty.
Federal employees and taxpayers: Requires scrutiny of national-security risks (e.g., sensitive communications, counterespionage vulnerabilities) before accepting a donated foreign aircraft, prompting reviews that could prevent security exposures.
Taxpayers and Congress: Forces clearer congressional review and a vote on whether to accept a roughly $400M foreign gift, increasing transparency about potential constitutional conflicts and public accountability.
Taxpayers: Calls attention to potential retrofit and modification costs (hundreds of millions to billions), giving the public and lawmakers better information about likely future federal spending tied to accepting the aircraft.
Presidential travel and staff: Prohibiting or delaying acceptance could complicate legitimate temporary transport arrangements for the president, disrupting continuity of executive travel and operations.
Congress and taxpayers: Publicizing allegations about a living president accepting a foreign gift could politicize oversight, fueling partisan litigation or investigations and undermining bipartisan decisionmaking.
Taxpayers: Emphasizing large estimated retrofit costs could create public alarm or uncertainty about budget impacts even if final expenses differ, complicating fiscal planning and public perception.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
States congressional findings about the Foreign Emoluments Clause and historical practice for accepting foreign gifts, saying the Constitution allows acceptance only with Congress’s consent. Asserts that accepting a large Boeing 747–8 aircraft from a foreign royal family without Congress’s permission would violate the Clause and could create national security and large fiscal risks. Lists historical examples of presidents seeking or obtaining congressional consent for foreign gifts, summarizes constitutional rules, and alleges that the President intends to accept and later transfer a donated aircraft to a private presidential library foundation — a transfer the resolution says would be improper without congressional approval.
Official title: Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that President Trump must comply with the Foreign Emoluments Clause, by submitting all plans for his jumbo jet gift from Qatar immediately to Congress.
Introduced May 14, 2025 by Jamie Ben Raskin · Last progress May 14, 2025