'Guess where the money came from?' Outrage sparked as cost of 'free' Air Force One is revealed

President Donald Trump has loudly criticized the roughly $2.5 billion renovation of the Federal Reserve headquarters. Yet, when it comes to another costly Washington project — refurbishing a “free” Air Force One jet gifted by Qatar — talk around the White House goes silent, the New York Times noted in a report Sunday.

Air Force officials appear to have disguised the cost of revamping the Qatar‑donated jet by embedding it within the over‑budget Sentinel nuclear missile modernization program, per the report. A recently revealed $934 million reallocation from the Pentagon’s beleaguered Sentinel ICBM modernization program has alarmed lawmakers, even as officials insist the missile project remains fully funded.

Officials have classified the refurbishment cost entirely, and efforts to conceal the funding behind Trump’s pet project are unusually elaborate.

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The report noted that in hearings this summer, Air Force Secretary Troy Meink confirmed that surplus 2024 funds from the LGM‑35A Sentinel program were diverted to help finance a highly controversial project: converting a luxury Boeing 747‑8 gifted by Qatar into a makeshift Air Force One.

Meink said the missile upgrade effort "is fully funded … and has all the resources it needs" despite the fund shift.

According to the report, no one seems willing to explain why exactly $934 million was shifted.

Democratic leaders including Sens. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Jack Reed have demanded answers about the legality and propriety of redirecting funds from the Sentinel program — a flagship nuclear modernization effort — into what critics see as a politically motivated retrofit of a foreign-donated jet.

Despite calls for transparency, Meink declined to provide cost breakdowns or a precise timeline in the appropriations hearing, prompting further frustration from lawmakers overseeing defense budgets.

Meanwhile, the report generated backlash on social media.

Academic Robert McCollister wrote on the social platform X: "Guess where the money ($934 million) for Trump's used AF 1 came from? The Sentinel ICBM program which is already way behind and over budget!"

Economist Dean Baker wrote: "Pretty great how the government will spend $1 billion renovating Trump's 'free' Air Force One that was gifted to him by Qatar, which may never actually be used as a government plane -- goes straight to Trump's 'library' after he leaves office."