President Donald Trump has granted his top adviser, Elon Musk, with new authority to speed the production of two new jets by Boeing for use as Air Force One, possibly by relaxing security clearance standards for workers on the planes, The New York Times reports.
Trump is reportedly growing increasingly unhappy with the delays to the new Air Force One jets and has put Musk in the discussions between Boeing and the military, multiple sources familiar with the talks told the Times. People close to Trump reportedly say that the president has lost hope in Boeing and continually complains that the company seems unable to complete the project, which would replace the two 30-year-old Boeing 747 planes currently used interchangeably as Air Force One.
Trump commented on the situation in an interview on Tuesday night, saying that Boeing is "actually in default," adding, "They’ve been building this thing forever. I don’t know what’s going on."
The Times notes that executives from the company have warned the president that the planes may not be finished until close to the end of his term, but sources say Musk insists that at least one plane can be completed within a year. The newspaper also reports that both Musk and Boeing are pushing to lower the requirements for top-level security clearances for some workers in order to speed up the process.
"The requirements could be scrubbed down and more risk can be assumed," former Air Force secretary Frank Kendall told the Times. "But you can also go too far. You do need to have the basic command and control capabilities and communications capabilities on the airplane."
White House communications director Steven Cheung said in a statement: "It is ridiculous the delivery of a new Air Force One airplane has been delayed for such a long time. President Trump is working on identifying ways to speed up the delivery of a new plane, which has been needed for a while."
A spokesperson for Boeing declined to comment.
Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
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