House defense lawmakers are demanding their own veto power — over any effort by President Trump to change the iconic paint scheme on his personal ride, Air Force One.
Members of the House Armed Services Seapower subcommittee drafted language this week that would effectively block Mr. Trump from altering the current light blue and white color design on the presidential plane, which has been in place since the Kennedy administration.
The language was part of the overall House defense panel’s draft version of the national military budget for fiscal year 2020. Defense One first reported news of the proposed legislation.
Mr. Trump — the first president who once ran an airline named after himself — had previously suggested he would like to repaint the Boeing 747-200 presidential aircraft in a red, white and blue motif. But the House Seapower panel unanimously approved language requiring any change to the Air Force One livery to “comply with the criteria set forth” in a Boeing-led study in 2017 on various paint schemes for the plane.
Boeing declined to comment on the details of the study, but congressional sources say the study’s findings would effectively prevent the president from repainting the plane without congressional approval.
• Carlo Muñoz can be reached at cmunoz@washingtontimes.com.
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