• President Trump continues to defend a plan for the US to receive a plane from Qatar.
• Many politicians in Washington have raised ethical and national security concerns over the issue.
• The issue of emoluments, which arose during Trump's first term, is now front and center again.

President Donald Trump seems to be obsessed with Qatar's offer of a $400 million plane and the subsequent blowback.

Since it was first reported on Sunday that the Qatari royal family is considering gifting the Trump administration a Boeing 747-8 jumbo jet, both Democrats and MAGA loyalists alike have criticized the proposed gift as ethically suspect, legally questionable, and a potential security risk.

But Trump keeps defending the proposed gift in numerous posts on Truth Social and in a Tuesday night conversation with Fox News' Sean Hannity.

"There are those that say we shouldn't be accepting gifts in the Defense Department, and I would say only a stupid person would say that. Why wouldn't we do that?" Trump told Hannity aboard Air Force One on Tuesday during his trip to the Middle East, where he's visiting Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates.

If the deal goes through, Trump has said the aircraft would be temporarily used as Air Force One during his remaining time in office before being donated to his presidential library. Though the exact value of the specific jet in question — which is 13 years old, ABC News reported — isn't clear, a new 747-8 jumbo jet fetches a whopping $400 million.

"The Boeing 747 is being given to the United States Air Force/Department of Defense, NOT TO ME! It is a gift from a Nation, Qatar, that we have successfully defended for many years," Trump wrote on Truth Social on Tuesday. He continued, "Why should our military, and therefore our taxpayers, be forced to pay hundreds of millions of Dollars when they can get it for FREE from a country that wants to reward us for a job well done. This big savings will be spent, instead, to MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! Only a FOOL would not accept this gift on behalf of our Country."

Trump also re-shared multiple posts from supporters commenting on the plane late Tuesday (or very early Wednesday morning for Trump, with one post coming at 4:05 a.m. local time), including one in which a Truth user compared the plane to the 1886 gift of the Statue of Liberty from France and the 1880 gift of the Resolute Desk from Queen Victoria.

There are a few differences between those gifts and the Qatari plane.

For one, the Resolute Desk has remained in the White House to be used by future presidents, including Trump, and the Statue of Liberty is located on public land and managed by the National Park Service.

Under federal law, members of the executive branch must disclose gifts from foreign governments that are worth more than $480.

The Foreign Gifts and Decorations Act of 1966 governs the receipt of gifts taken in by federal officials, and its passage by Congress was aimed to avert conflicts of interest.

Presidents are permitted to retain gifts to be showcased at their future presidential library. However, if a president hopes to keep a gift for personal use, they must reimburse the fair market cost for the item.

The Air Force One plane used by Ronald Reagan and several other presidents is currently exhibited at Reagan's presidential library and museum in California, but that plane has been decommissioned and was never again used. It's not clear if the Qatar plane would be decommissioned before being gifted to Trump's presidential library, but Trump has said he would not use it after his time in office.

The proposal has reignited the longstanding debate over emoluments and the fight that many lawmakers have taken up over the years to ensure that presidents aren't profiting from their perch in the Oval Office.

In the US Constitution, there are emoluments enshrined into law that aim to shield the presidency from outside influences — which includes foreign governments.

Article I states that governments cannot accept gifts from any "King, Prince, or foreign State" in the absence of congressional approval. And in Article II, a president's compensation can't be raised or lowered during their time in the White House.

Qatar's media attaché to the US, Ali Al-Ansari, told BI in a statement that the transfer of the aircraft is "currently under consideration." The matter "remains under review by the respective legal departments, and no decision has been made," Al-Ansari said.

"Any gift given by a foreign government is always accepted in full compliance with all applicable laws. President Trump's Administration is committed to full transparency," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt previously said in a statement to BI.

• The toy industry is poised to be hit hard by Trump's heightened levies on Chinese goods.
• China is the world's toymaking powerhouse, making its relationship with the US all the more crucial.
• Several experts told BI that the tariffs could have dire consequences for the US economy.

The upcoming holiday season could look drastically different for many American families as President Donald Trump's tariffs are on a path to radically alter the toy industry.

Trump's 145% levies on Chinese goods have wreaked havoc on supply chains after being imposed in April, with experts warning of surging prices and emptier shelves for an array of products in the coming weeks and months.

The US toy industry — which imports about 80% of its products from China, according to data from the Toy Association — will be one of the first areas to see a negative impact, supply chain experts and toy industry insiders predict.

"This is as close to a nuclear bomb as the toy industry has ever faced," Steve Velte, the president of Global Toy Experts, told Business Insider in an interview. "It doesn't compare to any toy shortages in the past or recessions."

Trump thinks US children can cut back on toys

Trump has repeatedly downplayed the effects his tariffs might have on the cost and availability of toys for US consumers.

"Maybe the children will have two dolls instead of 30 dolls, and maybe the two dolls would cost a couple of bucks more than they would normally," he told reporters during a Cabinet meeting in April.

Trump repeated the refrain in early May, telling reporters on Air Force One that young girls in the US don't need dozens of dolls.

"She could be very happy with two or three or four or five," he said.

Bob Ferrari, a supply chain executive and managing director of the Ferrari Consulting and Research Group, previously told Business Insider that low-margin products — including toys — that companies don't make a huge profit from could see price increases and low inventory before other products.

The political fallout for Trump

There's a reason US politicians generally don't talk about Americans, especially children, making do with less.

Compared to President Franklin D. Roosevelt calling on the American public to make sacrifices during World War II, Trump's call for girls to sacrifice their dolls is "strikingly ill-informed," David Frank, a professor emeritus of rhetoric and political communication at University of Oregon, told BI.

Frank noted that The Budget Lab at Yale University estimates that Trump's tariffs will reduce the after-tax income of low-income households by 4%.

"These are not households with 37 dolls and 250 pencils," he said.

This sort of rhetoric of making do with less could hurt the president's standing with some of his supporters, Ethan Porter, an assistant professor of media and public affairs at George Washington University, told BI.

"Trump is trying to persuade people to accept less, but at the end of the day, people are going to feel deprived, and Americans don't like to feel deprived," he said. "He's sabotaged his own greatest strength, which is his understanding of the American consumer."

Empty shelves and a bleak Christmas

Unless Trump reverses the tariffs on Chinese goods — and soon — the levies will have a big impact on American consumers, who will start to see higher prices and a smaller inventory of toys, both online and on the shelves, Velte told BI.

"There'll be a shortage of product, number one, because some products just won't come in," he said. "There'll be some products that do come in but will be delayed, and then some products you just won't be able to afford."

And for the companies that stocked extra inventory ahead of the tariffs, those products will sell out quickly, resulting in longer lines and emptier shelves, Velte noted.

"It's going to be a very sad Christmas," he said.

Lynn Rosenblum, a consumer products expert, echoed Velte's concern about empty toy shelves ahead of the holiday season.

"Usually in the toy industry, an empty shelf means that you've sold out, and that's actually a good thing," Rosenblum said. "But I just think that there might be less choices, at least for the short term and maybe the long term."

In May, toy behemoth Mattel said it might have to raise its prices in the US to offset the impact of Trump's tariff policies.

"Given the volatile macroeconomic environment and evolving US tariff situation, it is difficult to predict consumer spending and Mattel's US sales in the remainder of the year and holiday season," the company's most recent earnings report read.

Ocean freight bookings of containers shipping from China to the US are down significantly, nosediving 42.7% for the week of April 28 — the sharpest weekly drop so far this year, according to data from the digital logistics company Vizion.

Rebuilding toy manufacturing in the US could take years

Even with massive tariffs on Chinese goods, it's unlikely industries like toy manufacturing will be able to quickly scale up in the US.

"All the mold-making for plastic products, for example, is something that is highly specialized," Jason Miller, a professor of supply chain management at Michigan State University, told BI. "The ecosystem for toy production — not just for the US, but really for the world — is in China. That ecosystem isn't something that can up and move quickly."

Scott Steinberg, a toy expert and the creator of The Modern Parent's Guide book series, echoed those concerns. "To get the kind of manufacturing capabilities to make toys in the US that the administration is hoping for — that's more like a five-to-seven year process of investments," he said.

On Tuesday, Mattel CEO Ynon Kreiz said manufacturing for the company wasn't returning stateside anytime soon. "We don't see that happening," Kreiz said on CNBC's Squawk Box.

The consequences of tariffs for the industry could be "devastating," Rosenblum said.

"Everybody thinks of the big toy companies when they think of the industry, but a very large percentage of the industry are entrepreneurs, small toy companies, midsize toy companies, and just like a lot of other businesses, folks that can't keep their doors open, can't keep their employees paid," she said.

• The Department of Government Efficiency aiming to make sweeping changes to the federal workforce.
• Several top government officials have left their roles after pushing back against DOGE.
• The task force's work to reshape Washington is causing major disruptions.

The Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, was envisioned by President Donald Trump and Elon Musk as a way to streamline government operations and reduce the size of the federal bureaucracy.

As the hard-charging task force has made its imprint on the government, several high-profile officials have either stepped down from their roles or have been dismissed from their positions.

Here's a look at some of the major departures that have come as a result of DOGE's work.

Michelle King, Social Security Administration head

King, the acting commissioner of the Social Security Administration, stepped down from her post at the agency on Sunday following a dispute with the Department of Government Efficiency, people familiar with the matter told The Washington Post.

After serving more than 30 years at the SSA — which manages programs related to retirement, survivors, and disability benefits for millions of Americans — King became its acting commissioner last month, according to her LinkedIn.

Nancy Altman, the president of political advocacy group Social Security Works, told NBC News that several SSA officials informed her of King's departure. Altman told the outlet that King had refused to provide sensitive data including bank information, Social Security numbers, and medical records to the DOGE team.

In a statement shared with Business Insider, White House spokesperson Harrison Fields said that the agency will be led by "a career Social Security anti-fraud expert" until Trump's pick to lead the SSA, Frank Bisignano, is confirmed.

"President Trump is committed to appointing the best and most qualified individuals who are dedicated to working on behalf of the American people, not to appease the bureaucracy that has failed them for far too long," Fields said in the statement.

The SSA did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider, nor did King.

Jim Jones, head of the FDA's food division

Jones, the head of the US Food and Drug Administration's food division quit his role on Monday, according to a resignation letter obtained by Bloomberg.

Jones said in the letter that he was leaving his post because the cuts DOGE has made to the FDA will make it too difficult to do his job. Combined with the Trump administration's "disdain for the very people" needed to implement the changes it wants to see, Jones wrote that it would be "fruitless" for him to continue in his role.

In an interview with Stat News, Jones cited his frustration that nine staffers were terminated from a 29-person group that was researching chemical additives in food — a key area of concern for Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

"It goes to this indiscriminate nature of it," Jones told the outlet. "There's nothing strategic about it, nothing thoughtful about it. That'll be the hardest place to shore up. And just listening to Secretary Kennedy, that's one of his highest priorities, if not his highest priority."

When asked to confirm Jones' departure, the White House shared a statement from Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt saying "there are a number of bureaucrats who are resistant to the democratic process and mandate delivered by the American people."

"President Trump is only interested in the best and most qualified people who are also willing to implement his America First agenda on behalf of the American people," Leavitt continued in the statement. "It's not for everyone and that's okay."

The FDA did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.

David Lebryk, top US Treasury official

Lebryk for years was the top civil servant at the Treasury Department and he briefly served as acting Treasury secretary. In those roles, he oversaw over a billion payments made by the government annually before he announced his retirement in late January.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent gave approval for DOGE to access the system, which had generally been operated by career civil service employees.

Lebryk was put on administrative leave after pushing back against DOGE's attempts to access the expansive federal payment system, according to The Washington Post.

Lebryk joined the Treasury Department in 1989 as a presidential management intern and served as the fiscal assistant treasury secretary from 2014 until January 2025. From the start of Trump's second term until Bessent was confirmed as Treasury secretary days later, Lebryk served as the acting Treasury secretary.

Business Insider reached out to the Treasury Department and a spokesperson for DOGE for comment.

Paul Martin, USAID inspector general

Martin, the inspector general at the US Agency for International Development, was fired in February after his office issued a report describing what they saw as the downfalls of the Trump administration's efforts to dismantle the agency.

The dismissal of Martin — who had served as USAID's inspector general since 2023 — came in the form of an email from the White House Office of Presidential Personnel, per NBC News.

"On behalf of President Donald J. Trump, I am writing to inform you that your position as Inspector General of the United States Agency for International Development is terminated, effective immediately," deputy director of the Office of Presidential Personnel Trent Morse wrote in the email. "Thank you for your service."

Business Insider has reached out to the USAID Inspector General's office for comment.

Steven Reilly, lead engineer for Notify.gov

Reilly, who served as the engineering lead for the General Services Administration's Notify.gov text messaging platform, stepped down from his role in the Technology Transformation Services branch after its new leader tried to obtain access to all parts of Notify.gov, according to The Washington Post.

The new director of the GSA's Technology Transformation Services, Thomas Shedd, is a former Tesla engineer.

Shedd tried to obtain administrative access to over 20 government systems, and in a departing letter, Reilly said he had not "received a justification" for Shedd's request, according to The Post.

"While we have suggested alternatives, such as read-only access, Thomas has continued to request full admin/root access," Reilly said in the letter.

GSA acting press secretary Will Powell told Business Insider in a statement that Shedd "has not been given access to the Notify.gov system at this time."

"Access ensures a detailed understanding of how the systems work so areas for optimization and efficiencies can be quickly identified," Powell said. "Mr. Shedd is working with all appropriate GSA officials to ensure all established GSA protocols and policies are followed before he is granted access to a TTS system."