Tired of waiting for Boeing to make a new Air Force One, President Donald Trump’s administration is now revamping a plane once used by the Qatari government, according to a report.
“I’m not happy with Boeing,” the president said in February, referring to the Air Force One program. "We may buy a plane or get a plane, or something."
Now, his administration seems to be doing just that. The federal government is hiring defense contractor L3Harris to refurbish a Boeing 747 previously used by the Qatari government, the Wall Street Journal reported.
The Independent has reached out to Boeing, L3Harris and the White House for comment.
The president hopes to use the refurbished plane by the fall, sources told the outlet, and is regularly checking on its progress . This aircraft will be an interim solution until the Boeing jets are delivered.
The current presidential jets — which have been in service since the George H.W. Bush administration — are nearing their end of life.
During his first term, Trump commissioned Boeing to manufacture two replacement jets to tune of $3.9 billion. Nearly seven years after Boeing won the contract, the planes are behind schedule and billions of dollars over budget after supplier, manufacturing and engineering setbacks.
That means, unless Trump finds a way to circumvent the 22nd Amendment as he’s mused, he would be out of office before being able to use them.
The move to find an alternative came a few weeks after the CEO of Boeing visited the Oval Office to meet with the president on April 18, the outlet reported.
Even before Trump was inaugurated, the White House Military Office and senior Air Force officials weighed terminating Boeing’s contract for the new jets, sources told The Journal.
Under the Trump White House, discussions around whether the administration can sue Boeing have transpired, the outlet reported.
