Turning Qatari Plane Into Air Force One Would Cost Much More Than $400 Million And Trump Might Not Use It, Experts Say

Turning the Qatari plane offered as a gift to the Trump administration would cost much more than its original value of $400 million and take years to be ready, according to expert.

Speaking to NBC News, three aviation experts said adapting the plane would cost about $1 billion and the project might not be ready even by 2029 when President Donald Trump leaves office. By that time the plane would be given to Trump's presidential library foundation. He has said he won't use it as his personal plane by then.

"You're taking a 747, disassembling it, reassembling it, and then jacking it up to a very high level," commercial and military aviation consultant Richard Aboulafia told the outlet. The plane would need to hold many features unique to the Air Force One, including secure communications in the sky that allow the president to issue orders in case of emergency.

Other experts told the outlet that the idea doesn't make financial sense either, even if Trump is touting the fact that the U.S. would not have to pay for the aircraft itself, given the remodeling costs and that Boeing is already converting two planes to replace existing Air Force One planes. Moreover, they said, the plane would likely be sent to Boeing to be adapted. "If you have to rip the plane apart, that's more of a Boeing job," Aboulafia said.

Trump again defended the decision on Tuesday night, saying the plane "is a gift from a Nation, Qatar, that we have successfully defended for many years."

"It will be used by our Government as a temporary Air Force One, until such time as our new Boeings, which are very late on delivery, arrive. Why should our military, and therefore our taxpayers, be forced to pay hundreds of millions of Dollars when they can get it for FREE from a country that wants to reward us for a job well done. This big savings will be spent, instead, to MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! Only a FOOL would not accept this gift on behalf of our Country," Trump added.

However, Trump is facing backlash from several loyalists over the matter. Among the latest to voice concern about the possibility is Senator Ted Cruz, who flagged potential issues with national security and warned the plane could be a doorway for espionage.

"I'm not a fan of Qatar," Cruz told CNBC. "I think they have a really disturbing pattern of funding theocratic lunatics who want to murder us, funding Hamas and Hezbollah. And that's a real problem."

Senator Rand Paul also criticized the possibility. Speaking on Fox News' Jesse Watters Primetime, Paul noted that "the Constitution in article 2 talks about how the president can't take emoluments or gifts from foreign leaders."

"The question is if you can only do this for official purposes. If it came to someone in Congress they can vote and the Ethics Committee can look at it. With this there will have to be some kind of adjudication. This has never been done and it's not like a ride on the plane, it's the entire $400 million dollar plane. I think it's not worth the appearance of impropriety. whether it's improper or not. I don't think it's worth it," Paul added.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer announced on Tuesday that Democrats are set to pause all political appointees in the Department of Justice over the decision.