House Speaker Mike Johnson expressed uncertainty over Congress's authority to decide if former President Donald Trump can retain a luxury jet gifted by Qatar. He stated that such matters fall outside his responsibilities. Johnson claimed the jet is a gift to the United States, not Trump personally, leaving further decisions to the administration. Contrarily, the Constitutionâs Emoluments Clause requires congressional approval for gifts from foreign entities. Trumpâs Justice Department argues that the jet acceptance wasn't a bribe due to its public offer, but existing laws set limits on federal gifts without appropriate compensation.
If the President were to accept an airplane from the Qatari government, should Congress have approval over that kind of thing? asked a reporter. Look, I've been a little busy on reconciliation, so I'm not following all the twists and turns of the Qatar jet, I certainly heard about it. My understanding is it's not a personal gift to the president, it's a gift to the United States, and other nations give us gifts all the time, but I'm going to leave it to the administration.
Notably, the Constitution's Emoluments Clause bans officeholders from accepting gifts from any king, prince, or foreign state without the explicit approval of Congress. Congress later passed the Foreign Gifts and Decorations Act of 1966, which further sets out rules for federal employees receiving gifts.
Trump's DOJ has made the case that Trump can accept the plane as it was publicly announced and offered without any explicit conditions arguing, therefore, it was not a bribe. However, under U.S. law, federal employees can only accept gifts under $480 unless they pay the full market value of the gift in order to keep it.
Most gifts given to presidents are transferred to the National Archives as property of the people of the United States and eventually end up in a presidential library, which is what Trump is claiming will happen to the plane.
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