Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on Wednesday defended President Trump’s possible move to accept a Qatari-offered jet for the president’s use, saying “the problem is really with Boeing.”
“Boeing had a responsibility to provide a new Air Force One now. They didn’t do the job,” McCarthy said on “CBS Mornings Plus.”
Mr. Trump arrived Wednesday in Qatar following a visit to Saudi Arabia, as the president makes his first international trip of his second term this week. Meanwhile, the unprecedented offer by the royal family of Qatar to donate a jumbo jet for Mr. Trump’s exclusive use as a presidential plane has loomed over the trip, as Democrats — and some Republicans — have called the ethics and national security implications of the potential gift into question.
But the Republican, who was ousted as speaker by his own members in 2023 and left Congress later that year, said he thinks of the issue differently, saying “here’s a problem, and you need to solve it.”
“If you understand President Trump, he’s always a business man, he’s looking for a deal, and he doesn’t want the taxpayers to pay for something,” McCarthy said.
McCarthy argued that “we need a new Air Force One,” noting that the two plans that currently serve in that role were manufactured around 40 years ago. Boeing had taken “too long,” he said, to fulfill the contract it has with Congress to build replacement aircraft. The former speaker said Boeing should lease another plane to the president, even if it’s the Qatari jet, which he argued would “take away all implication that somebody says we’re getting some gift, because Boeing is responsible, because they’re too delayed.”
“They should lease the plane, fix it, and provide an Air Force One, new one, for the president,” McCarthy said of Boeing.
The comments come as McCarthy’s relationship with Mr. Trump have taken twists and turns. After the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol, McCarthy accused the president of “inciting people” to carry out the attack. But McCarthy later sought to mend fences with the president, while largely avoiding criticizing him since.
Earlier this week, Mr. Trump defended the gift, while citing a delay on the Boeing planes.
“When I came back, I said, by the way, what’s going on with the Boeings that are coming? ‘Well sir, they’re way behind,'” the president said of his return to office.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Monday that the Qatari government had “graciously offered to donate a plane to the Department of Defense,” while noting that the details were still being worked out.
Still, some Republicans in Congress have expressed concern about the offer. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, told reporters Tuesday that he thinks there are “lots of issues associated with that offer,” which he said should be further discussed.
Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri said he understood the need for a new Air Force One, but he told reporters that “I’d love to have a big, beautiful jet that’s built in the United States of America,” although the 747 the Qataris are offering was built in the U.S. GOP Sen. Rick Scott of Florida expressed concern for the president’s safety, saying “Qatar is not in my opinion a great ally.” And Sen. Thom Tillis, a North Carolina Republican, said “everybody needs to know that Air Force One is not like every other Boeing.”
“It’s going to have to be put through a lot of paces and probably every square inch analyzed before I think the president should consider it as a primary means of transportation,” Tillis added.
House Speaker Mike Johnson said Wednesday that he would leave questions about the Qatari offer to the administration, saying it’s “not my lane.”
Cristina Corujo and
contributed to this report.
