Reports that President Donald Trump may receive a luxurious jet as a gift from the Qatari government have renewed interest in Attorney General Pam Bondi’s ties to Qatar. In 2020 and the years leading up to the 2022 World Cup, Bondi earned $115,000 a month as a foreign lobbyist for the country of Qatar.
Trump’s next trip to the Middle East, which includes a stop in Qatar, might provide more information or cause more controversy. As the government struggles with legal formalities and public scrutiny over possible foreign influence and ethical bounds, Pam Bondi’s previous interactions with Qatar are expected to continue to get attention.
She represented Qatar’s interests before Congress in this capacity. She also held a second lobbying job with Ballard Partners, a firm located in Washington, D.C., where she represented Qatari interests and a number of corporations, including Amazon. In January, Democratic members of the Senate Committee on the Judiciary brought up her connections to Qatar, accusing Bondi of not disclosing them.
They were once again in the spotlight when it was reported that the Qatari government was considering giving the president a jet known as a “floating palace” for “temporary use as Air Force One.”
Does Pam Bondi’s Qatar lobbying pose a conflict?
The $400 million luxury Boeing 747-8 that Qatar is planning to give Trump—the so-called “flying palace”—has sparked fresh legal questions about the propriety and legitimacy of such foreign government gifts.
Concerns about foreign influence at the highest level of government have been exacerbated by Bondi’s previous experience as a lobbyist for Qatar, which he has brought to his position as attorney general. Furthermore, Bondi’s links to Qatar create questions about whether she will effectively investigate if accepting this jet is lawful, as she is expected to serve as the top legal officer for the United States, not only for the president.
The U.S. and Qatari military ministries are now negotiating the temporary transfer of a 747-8 jet, which is characterized as luxurious and technologically sophisticated, for the president’s use. According to NBC News, the U.S. Air Force will pay for the aircraft’s transfer and refit when it leaves the presidency, and the aircraft will be turned over to the Trump Presidential Library Foundation by 2029.
Speaking to Newsweek on May 11, Qatar’s media attaché to the United States, Ali Al-Ansari, stated that “the matter remains under review by the respective legal departments and no decision has been made.” Bondi and DOJ attorneys argue the deal is lawful if it goes via the Defense Department and avoids bribery and constitutional laws since the gift is not linked to any official conduct.
Bondi is hardly the only Trump administration official with Middle Eastern business connections. The president’s sons currently run the Trump real estate company, which owns and manages buildings and developments in the United Arab Emirates, Oman, and Saudi Arabia.
How are critics reacting to Bondi’s past ties?
Democratic pollster and strategist Matt McDermott stated: “The DOJ memo approving Trump’s Qatari jet? Written by Pam Bondi. Her last job? Lobbying for Qatar.”
Trump ally and far-right activist Laura Loomer, using a nickname for Bondi, said: “Not only will the President of the United States be flying around on a $400 million jet paid for by Qatar, but don’t forget, our own US Attorney General Pam Blondi was once a registered foreign lobbyist on behalf of Qatar. Blondi was compensated $115,000 per month by Qatar.”
