Republicans opposed the measure, considering it a jab at Trump.Ī compromise version of the defense bill makes no mention of the plane’s paint job and simply requires the Air Force to notify Congress 30 days before any “over and above” work on the plane is authorized. The House Armed Services Committee last year voted, as part of its annual defense policy bill, to limit changes to the interior and paint scheme to what’s already included in the 2018 fixed-price contract. Lawmakers initially pushed back when Trump announced the change amid concerns that the modification could affect the cost or delivery schedule of the nearly $4 billion program. ITS OFFICIAL POTUS JoeBiden has scrapped plans by Trump to change Air Force Ones colors to red, white and blue and will instead keep and slightly update John Kennedys classic blue and gold color scheme. What’s next: It’s unclear if Biden will decide to keep Trump’s redesign, go back to the plane’s classic colors or come up with something else entirely.Īnd Congress is likely to stay out of it. The Air Force did not respond to a request for comment on the status of the decision. But the Air Force said in July 2019 that the final decision won’t be made until 2021, when Trump is no longer in office. That means the contractor is still working on the electrical power and communications systems, an onboard medical facility and the interior workspace for the president.īoeing would not comment on whether the colors could still be changed. Status of the plane: The program to produce two planes to carry the president is in the modification phase, according to Jacqueline Sodano, a Boeing spokesperson. The Air Force awarded a $3.9 billion contract to Boeing in 2018, and the pair of modified 747s are expected to be handed over in 2024, the final year of Biden’s term. The colors include blue, yellow, gold, purple, and fuchsia. “I like the concept of red, white and blue and the classic, and I think it’s going to look much better actually.”Ī model of the plane with the new colors was on display in the Oval Office last summer during a visit by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and the Pentagon’s fiscal 2021 budget documents included a mockup of the jet with the new paint design. “The baby blue doesn’t fit with us,” he told Fox News. He said he was making the change for future presidents who would use the jets, not for himself, yet the new scheme bore a striking resemblance to the livery on Trump’s private 757. ![]() ![]() Kennedy.Ĭontext: Trump unveiled his plan for an Americana-inspired red, white and dark blue design in a July 2019 interview with ABC. The transition team would not comment on whether he has considered restoring the plane to the old colors, which have been in use since the presidency of John F. While the move is expected, it’s not yet clear whether Biden will actually go through with it. “New coats of paint are very easily applied.” “When Trump changed it, it was clearly just to resemble his own aircraft,” Aboulafia said.
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