- Senate Republicans blocked the Presidential Airlift Security Act on 22 July.
- The bill would prohibit Pentagon funding for modifications to aircraft owned by foreign governments.
- The VC-25B Bridge was delivered in late June and deployed to the NATO summit in Ankara.
- President Trump switched to the older VC-25A following a Secret Service security recommendation.
- Retrofit costs are estimated to climb from $400m to $1bn.
Senate Republicans have blocked Democratic legislation seeking to prevent the Pentagon using taxpayer money to modify a VIP-configured B747-8 serving as a VC-25B Bridge aircraft, gifted to President Donald Trump by Qatar in 2025. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer attempted to pass the Presidential Airlift Security Act on 22 July, which would prohibit Department of Defense funding being used for purchase, modification, restoration or maintenance of aircraft previously owned by a foreign government. The bill was blocked by Republican Senator Deb Fischer.
The VC-25B Bridge was officially delivered to the air force in late June and is temporarily serving as the presidential aircraft while work continues on refurbishing two B747-8s that will replace the two ageing VC-25As. In early July, the VC-25B Bridge was deployed for the 2026 NATO summit in Ankara, but President Trump switched to the older VC-25A before departing following a security recommendation from the US Secret Service. The New York Times reported the jet lacks the defensive countermeasures needed to evade missile attacks.
Retrofit of the VC-25B Bridge was originally expected to cost approximately $400m, but the administration now estimates the price could climb to $1bn. Five B747-8s formerly of Korean Air were acquired under the E-4C programme for conversion into hardened airborne command posts. Fischer argued the measure would negatively affect the USAF Survivable Airborne Operations Center programme.
