President Donald Trump’s new Air Force One will remain in service, for now, after Senate Republicans blocked an attempt to prevent taxpayer dollars from upgrading the aircraft.Democrats have spent the last year sounding the alarm over the Boeing 747-8 luxury jet gifted to Trump by Qatar over the hefty price tag to retrofit the aircraft and the security risks that it could pose in serving as the main plane for the president.After Trump’s surprising admission over the weekend about the jet, which was unveiled as the latest addition to the Air Force One fleet by the White House last month, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., tried to halt any taxpayer funds from flowing to the project.NEW AIR FORCE ONE TAKES FLIGHT AS TRUMP UNVEILS REVAMPED PRESIDENTIAL AIRCRAFTSenate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., prepares to speak during a press conference following a policy luncheon at the U.S.Capitol on July 21, 2026, in Washington, D.C.
They discussed Republican budget proposals and the Iran war.(Getty Images)The administration estimated that upgrading the aircraft, which already has a base value of $400 million, could cost up to $1 billion. "The luxury jet may have come wrapped in a bow for Donald Trump, but it came with a massive price tag for the American people," Schumer said on the Senate floor.
"Trump is asking taxpayers to fork over an estimated $1 billion to retrofit, and max out his flying palace, so it can meet the security standards of the existing Air Force One fleet.""That, of course, we already paid for," he continued."Americans can't afford gas, can't afford groceries, can't afford their electric bill.
But Trump thinks they can afford to fly him in style."Schumer tried to forcefully pass his bill, Presidential Airlift Security Act, Wednesday afternoon, which would require that no Department of War funding may go to the purchase, modification, restoration or maintenance of an aircraft previously owned by a foreign government.TRUMP SAYS HE'S ...