Leader Schumer Floor Remarks Reaffirming His Hold On All DOJ Political Nominees If Attorney General Bondi Does Not Answer For Gross Politicization Of The DOJ, And Demanding Full Transparency Of Qatari Influence Over The Trump Administration

Washington, D.C. – Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) today spoke on the Senate floor on his hold of all Department of Justice political nominees following the Qatari government's $400 million private jet gift to President Trump, warning that the hold will continue until Attorney General Bondi – a former high-powered lobbyist for Qatar – explains why this robber-baron deal was allowed to go through. Below are Senator Schumer’s remarks, which can also be viewed here:

Donald Trump’s trip to the Middle East seems less like a presidential visit and more like a personal business venture.

Since Donald Trump became president, nobody, seems to have benefited more from Middle East deals than Donald Trump himself.

Golf Courses by the beach, hotel openings in Dubai, billions in investments towards Trump stablecoins. All of that enriches Donald Trump.

Is that what American foreign policy is all about? To make a rich president richer?

And of course, then there’s the matter of a half-a-billion dollar private jet that Qatar wants to gift Donald Trump to use as Air Force One.

On this Middle Eastern trip, who exactly is Donald Trump working for – for the American people, or for his own bottom line and the bottom line of companies he brought on the tour?

And until Attorney General Bondi – a former high-powered lobbyist for Qatar – explains why this robber-baron deal was allowed to go through, on the Qatar plane, I will not be complicit in the further polarization of the DOJ, and will hold all political DOJ nominees.

Let me say that again: until Attorney General Bondi, a former high-powered lobbyist for Qatar, resolves the issues of this robber-baron deal – for Qatar to gift to president Trump a $400 million airplane with huge security issues – in a way that is satisfying to the American people in terms of security and in terms of fairness, I will not be complicit in the further polarization of the DOJ. And so I'm holding all political DOJ nominees.

Now, some of our Republican colleagues, to their credit, have said they have some concerns about the Qatar deal. Well, how about showing it? How about showing some outrage?

Republicans should join us in getting answers or else they can expect this hold on nominees to persist. If this were done by a Democrat, Republicans would all be out here screaming. Republicans know how bad it is. So speak up.

Maybe that will stop the president, because there's a real national security risk. Air Force One is the most complicated, sophisticated plane in the world by a lot, because it must protect a president when he or she is commuting. And in case there's nefarious action against that plane, God forbid.

To let Qatar in on those secrets, you'd have to dismantle the plane they gave us down to every screw and every ratchet to see if they put little devices in there. It is estimated it will end up costing more to make this gift secure than it would to buy the new planes from Boeing that in two years will be available for delivery.

There are laws on the books precisely designed to prevent the naked corruption of a foreign country paying for a luxury air force one. We should apply those laws. And that’s why I am deploying these holds.

Americans deserve to know the answer to a basic question: who is Donald Trump working for, the American people or himself?

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