Responding to Qatari Jet Gift, Schumer Places Hold on Trump DOJ Nominees
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-New York) announced on Tuesday that he was placing a hold on all of President Donald Trump’s remaining nominees at the Department of Justice (DOJ), in light of the president reportedly accepting a $400 million luxury jet as a gift from the government of Qatar.
The jet is set to be used by Trump to act as Air Force One, after which it will be a featured part of his presidential library. The gift likely runs afoul of the Constitution’s Emoluments Clause, which states:
No Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State.
In an appearance on the Senate floor on Tuesday, Schumer said he would slow down the process of DOJ nomination, citing the “naked corruption” of the Trump administration accepting the gift and the “grave national security threat” it presents.
“In light of the deeply troubling news of a possible Qatari-funded Air Force One, and the reports that the Attorney General personally signed off on this clearly unethical deal, I am announcing a hold on all DOJ political nominees, until we get more answers,” Schumer said, according to his prepared remarks.
Schumer, who doubted the president’s insistence that the gift was “free,” listed a number of questions that required answers before the hold could be lifted, including whether the jet would be ready on “day one” with security measures in place, whether taxpayers would have to pay for updates to the jet (including those security measures), whether a government contract would be voided with Boeing to build a new Air Force One (and how much that would cost to invalidate), and what the government of Qatar may get in return for the gift.
Schumer also demanded that Attorney General Pam Bondi, who indicated she found no problems with the gift, “testify before both the House and Senate to explain why gifting Donald Trump a private jet does not violate the Emoluments Clause — which requires congressional approval — or any other ethics laws.”
“Until the Attorney General explains her blatantly inept decision and we get complete and comprehensive answers to these and other questions, I will place a hold on all political nominees to the Department of Justice,” Schumer said.
Democrats cannot put an indefinite block on nominees from Trump, but they can slow the process down considerably — indeed, a majority of Trump’s nominees have already been slowed down through the same process Schumer is now using.
A DOJ spokesperson tried to justify moving forward with nominees, unimpeded, by citing Trump’s election win last fall.
“The American people overwhelmingly elected President Trump to nominate highly qualified candidates at the Department of Justice who will Make America Safe Again, and the Senate should do its part by confirming these nominees,” that spokesperson said.
While some Republicans have expressed concern over Trump’s gift of a multimillion-dollar jet from Qatar, others, like Senate Republican Whip John Barrasso (Wyoming), are downplaying his action.
“Schumer has held every nominee of President Trump. So, he’s not done anything new today at all,” Barrasso said, calling the Democratic leader’s speech on the Senate floor a grandstanding display.
Some voices on the left praised Schumer’s action, but said that he should have placed a hold on this set of nominees much sooner.
“It’s good that Schumer is taking action, but it’s coming after many other ethical issues in the Trump administration that apparently didn’t warrant a hold on nominees,” The New Republic’s Hafiz Rashid wrote.