News: A top Democratic senator is vowing to force votes on U.S. weapons sales to two Middle East nations amid reports that President Donald Trump is poised to accept a luxury jumbo jet as a gift from the Qatari government.
Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, says he’ll object to proposed arms sales to both Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, citing both governments’ efforts to curry favor with Trump through his (and his family’s) business interests.
“Congress should have a full debate over selling weapons to countries that are participating in the corruption of our government,” Murphy told us.
Trump will visit Qatar this week as part of a three-country swing through the Middle East, and he’s likely to announce arms sales in each nation. Senators can force votes on joint resolutions of disapproval with the goal of blocking proposed weapons sales to foreign nations — though this would require veto-proof majorities in both chambers in order to have real force.
While the Qatari government says there’s no final decision yet on the gifting of the $400 million jet, Trump seemed to confirm it in a Truth Social post late Sunday, saying it’ll be outfitted by the U.S. government for use as Air Force One.
But Democrats and ethics experts say the unprecedented arrangement is likely unconstitutional. Separately, we’re told that Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) plans to introduce a resolution today condemning the gift transfer and will try to pass it on the floor later this week.
Here’s more from Murphy:
“Donald Trump is selling off America’s foreign policy and national security to the highest bidder and isn’t even bothering to cover it up. Any deal he strikes on this trip can be called into question based on Trump’s personal conflicts of interests.”
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer described the jet arrangement as “bribery” and “premium foreign influence.”
In addition to the gift from Qatar, it was recently revealed that the United Arab Emirates is pouring $2 billion into Trump’s cryptocurrency venture. The move helped stall stablecoin legislation in the Senate last week after Democrats raised conflict-of-interest concerns.
