Leader Schumer Floor Remarks Encouraging Senate Republicans To Stand Up To Trump And Pass His Presidential Airlift Security Act

Washington, D.C. - Today, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) spoke on the Senate floor, encouraging the Senate to pass his Presidential Airlift Security Act, a bill that would block the use of American taxpayer dollars from being used to further upgrade Trump's four-hundred-million-dollar luxury jet. Leader Schumer first introduced the President Airlift Security Act in May 2025 when President Trump accepted the plane from Qatar for presidential use. Every single Senate Republican voted against this legislation when it came up for a vote on last year's NDAA. Senator Deb Fischer (R-NE) blocked Leader Schumer's unanimous consent request. Below are Senator Schumer's remarks, which can also be viewed here:

Trump's corruption has no ceiling - and apparently it doesn't have an altitude limit either.

Trump's four-hundred-million-dollar luxury jet is the single biggest bribe an American president has ever accepted from another country in all of American history. The single biggest bribe in all of American history.

And make no mistake: Trump's so-called "Palace in the Sky" is a boondoggle at 40,000 feet.

If you thought this illegal gift was bad before, it's even worse now. We just learned that this new jet wasn't safe enough for Trump to make the return flight from the NATO summit in Turkey - a country that borders Iran. It doesn't have the countermeasures for heat seeking missiles and the other security equipment that it needs to keep the president safe. The rest of the Air Force One fleet had all of these security features, but Trump left them in the hangar back at home.

So I call on Senate Republicans to pass my Presidential Airlift Security Act so Americans don't have to pay to upgrade Trump's luxury jet when he already has access to a fleet of U.S. planes that are far safer and far less expensive to maintain.

The luxury jet may have come wrapped in a bow for Donald Trump, but it came with a massive price tag for the American people.

Trump is asking taxpayers to fork over an estimated one billion dollars to retrofit and "max out" his flying palace so it can meet the security standards of the existing Air Force One fleet, that of course we already paid for. Americans can't afford gas, can't afford groceries, can't afford the electric bill, but Trump thinks they can afford to pay for him to fly in style.

Trump's luxury jet also poses a grave risk to our national security. All the experts agree: no matter how many modifications are made, or how much is spent, or how intensely it is retrofitted, there will never be 100% confidence that the plane is secure. This is not a gamble anyone should be willing to take.

I introduced this legislation last year, but every single Republican Senator voted against the bill. Now with this new information hopefully they will see the light of what a boondoggle this is. And why do they back Donald Trump on every one of these boondoggles? It's as plain as could be for Americans to see: it's a gross waste of taxpayer dollars and gross corruption. Why don't they ever stop him?

Whether it's the slush fund, the ballroom, the family tax exemption deal, or this Air Force One nonsense, we see a new grift come out of this administration every day. Where are the Republicans?

Senate Republicans need to stop letting Trump off the hook for fleecing the American people.

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