This time it's an email - not a video message:
Senator McCormick is evidently responding to this letter of mine, dated May 12, 2025.
It's about Qatar's "gift" of a plane that President Donald Trump wants to refit as a "new" Air Force One.
So, after quoting the Constitution's "Emolument" clause, I asked the Senator:
Wouldn't that "gift" of a $300-400 million jet be, more or less, a gross violation of the Constitution's emolument clause?
I realize that recently President Trump said that he "didn't know" whether he had an uphold the Constitution (even though he took an oath to do exactly that in January) but shouldn't he be upholding it?
Isn't the gift from Qatar just one big bribe? Don't we deserve better?
As with any of these "letters to a Senator" blog posts, it's important to note not only what the Senator says vs what he does not say.
I asked him if the gift didn't violate the emolument clause and all he had to say was this:
On May 21, U.S. Secretary of Defense Peter Hegseth formally accepted a Boeing 747 jetliner from Qatar in accordance with federal regulations.
But is that true?
Well, there's this from PBS.
Kathleen Clark, Washington University in St. Louis School of Law, says:
This appears to be an illegal, unconstitutional payoff from a foreign government to the president at a scale we actually have never seen, on the order of $400 million.
Adding:
Our founders put into our Constitution a prohibition on government officials, including the president, accepting payments, gifts from foreign governments. They didn't want our government officials to have tainted — to be tainted by this kind of conflict of interest. And that's why the Constitution includes this Emoluments Clause and says that the president and others cannot accept such gifts, unless Congress specifically authorizes it.
The fact that it's done out in the open, she says, in no way diminishes the corruption. She even says Trump is laundering the gift through the Department of Defense - as he'll get the jet for his library once his term is over.
So the legality of the gift is not so clean as Pennsylvania's junior senator would like us to believe.
And that's all he really says about the legality of the gift, though he does offer a glancing shot at a quid pro quo with this:
As a businessman, I understand there is no such thing as a free lunch, and the Qatari jet is no exception. I am concerned this foreign plane lacks the critical capabilities, such as the ability to refuel in midair or carry advanced technological equipment, needed for the President to command the U.S. military from the air. Furthermore, the Qatari jet could pose substantial espionage and surveillance risks. It is also worth noting that the Qatari government, which gifted the plane to the United States, has, on some issues, been an important partner in the region while at the same time providing considerable support to Hamas and Hezbollah. [Emphasis added.]
Let me tangent for a moment on that "no such thing as a free lunch" part. Back in 2024, WHYY reported:
In 1974, in an effort to preserve farmland in the commonwealth, the Pennsylvania state legislature passed Act 319, creating the Clean and Green program. The program provided tax breaks to farms and farmers whose tax bills may have become too onerous to keep operating.
And:
However, a number of wealthy individuals — who do not engage in commercial farming — also benefit from the tax break while not serving the program’s originally intended purpose. In 2018, the Morning Call found that the program cut property taxes for “millionaires living in country estates, and golf courses, quarries, and other non-agricultural business.”
And:
According to Clean and Green records, one of those wealthy property owners benefiting from the program is Republican nominee for U.S. Senate, David McCormick, who owns hundreds of acres in Hemlock Township in Columbia County. Although McCormick has said multiple times he is “not a farmer,” he has been availing himself of that tax relief for what he calls his “family farm,” Frosty Valley Farms, which was listed as Frosty Valley Farms, LLC in 2018.
And so it goes.
Anyway, McCormick spends more time criticizing Boeing for being behind schedule than he does about the actual legality of the gift.
And he never addresses whether Trump should be upholding the Constitution.
He should. They both should.
This is what the Constitution says:
[N]o Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State.
Happy Weekend!
The text of Senator McCormick's letter:
Thank you for sharing your concerns regarding President Donald Trump’s decision to accept a Boeing 747 aircraft from Qatar to serve as Air Force One. Your feedback is essential as we work together to shape policies that benefit Pennsylvania and our country.
On May 21, U.S. Secretary of Defense Peter Hegseth formally accepted a Boeing 747 jetliner from Qatar in accordance with federal regulations. The U.S. Air Force is now preparing to award a contract to upgrade the aircraft, with the goal of enabling it to serve as Air Force One by the end of 2025. Once upgraded, this aircraft will complement the two Boeing 747 jets that have served as Air Force One since the George H.W. Bush Administration.
In 2018, Boeing won a $3.9 billion contract to build two new Air Force One aircrafts. However, the first of these planes will not be ready until 2029. As a result, the Trump Administration intends for the Qatari jet to serve as an interim presidential plane until the new aircraft is delivered.
I am disappointed that Boeing has not fulfilled its contractual obligations. The company is now five years behind schedule and billions of dollars over budget. I also agree the current presidential planes are outdated, and the President of the United States needs the most secure and sophisticated aircrafts available. At the same time, it will cost at least $400 million to retrofit the Qatari jet with the necessary defense and communications systems.
As a businessman, I understand there is no such thing as a free lunch, and the Qatari jet is no exception. I am concerned this foreign plane lacks the critical capabilities, such as the ability to refuel in midair or carry advanced technological equipment, needed for the President to command the U.S. military from the air. Furthermore, the Qatari jet could pose substantial espionage and surveillance risks. It is also worth noting that the Qatari government, which gifted the plane to the United States, has, on some issues, been an important partner in the region while at the same time providing considerable support to Hamas and Hezbollah.
For all these reasons, I intend to work with my Senate colleagues to scrutinize this deal to ensure it does not pose any security threats to the United States and explore ways to expedite the delivery of the Boeing-made planes.
It is an honor and a privilege to serve our great Commonwealth in the United States Senate. I appreciate having the benefit of your comments on this important matter. I am always grateful to hear from my constituents.
