★ Government Action
Air Force pulls Qatar jet retrofit funds from Sentinel ICBM program
Gulf Money, U.S. FavorsWhere the Settlements Went
Filed June 2025
★ The Brief
What happened
Air Force Secretary Troy Meink testified that the classified cost of converting Qatar's donated Boeing 747 into a presidential aircraft would be drawn from the over-budget Sentinel nuclear-missile replacement program; lawmakers have estimated the refit could run as high as $1 billion.
Who enabled it
Who benefits
Deal or steal?
The jet was a gift from the Qatari government accepted for Trump's use; making it flight-ready for the president now pulls money from the nation's nuclear-missile modernization, turning a foreign government's gift into a U.S. taxpayer cost.
★ Cast your vote
Air Force Secretary Troy Meink testified before lawmakers that the classified cost of refurbishing the donated Qatari Boeing 747 for presidential use would be pulled from the Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile program, a nuclear missile replacement effort that is already over budget. Meink said the Sentinel program would not be immediately impacted because it is being restructured. Lawmakers, including Sen. Chris Murphy, have speculated the refurbishment could cost as much as $1 billion.
Further reading
- ★ Government ActionJuly 2025Qatar donates luxury Boeing 747 to U.S. defense department
- ★ Private ActionJanuary 2026ByteDance TikTok U.S. spin-out names MGX, Oracle, Silver Lake
- ★ Government ActionNovember 2025Trump admin releases 35,000 Nvidia AI chips to Saudi Arabia's Humain
- ★ Government ActionNovember 2025Trump pledges F-35 sale to Saudi Arabia, calls MBS 'phenomenal' on rights
- ★ Private ActionSeptember 2025Dar Global launches $1B Trump Plaza Jeddah, second Saudi collaboration
- ★ Government ActionSeptember 2025Trump TikTok deal names Tahnoon's MGX as U.S. operator