President Donald Trump on Thursday arrived in the United Arab Emirates for his final stop in the Middle East this week in a visit that marked the first time a U.S. president has traveled to the nation in nearly 20 years, following President George W. Bush’s trip in 2008.

Trump, who has secured major business deals first in Saudi Arabia and then Qatar, is expected to announce more agreements with what has long been one of the U.S.’ chief trading partners in the region — though given recently announced trillion-dollar deals, it is unclear what more the Emiratis will agree to. 

In March, the UAE pledged a $1.4 trillion investment in the U.S. economy over the next decade through AI infrastructure, semiconductor, energy and American manufacturing initiatives, including a plan to nearly double U.S. aluminum production by investing in a new smelter for the first time in 35 years. 

On the eve of the president’s visit to the Middle Eastern nation, the State Department also announced a $1.4 billion sale of CH-47 F Chinook helicopters and F-16 fighter jet parts to Abu Dhabi.

However, lawmakers on Wednesday suggested they may block this sale amid concerns over direct personal business ties, as Trump’s crypto venture has also received a $2 billion investment by a UAE-backed investment firm.

‘If I was a betting person, I’d bet that the Emiratis almost certainly kept some things in reserve for President Trump’s actual visit that can be announced when he’s on the ground in Abu Dhabi,’ John Hannah, former national security advisor to Dick Cheney and current Randi & Charles Wax senior fellow at the Jewish Institute for National Security of America (JINSA), told Fox News Digital. ‘I wouldn’t be at all surprised if we see some new items unveiled or some additional details put out on some of the earlier announcements.’ 

‘The UAE has clearly staked its future on being the Middle East leader in a wide range of 21st-century technologies, from AI to chips to space,’ he added. ‘And of course, the shopping list for high-end weapons is almost limitless and always a possible deliverable for a trip like this.’  

Increased scrutiny arose around Trump’s Middle East tour as engagement with all three nations holds personal value to him, given the Trump Organization’s luxury resorts, hotels, golf courses, real estate projects and crypto investment schemes in the region.

But all three nations also hold significant value to Washington, as they have become key players in some of the toughest geopolitical issues facing the U.S. and its allies. 

Saudi Arabia and Qatar have been integral in facilitating U.S. negotiations when it comes to ending Russia’s war in Ukraine and hostage negotiations in the Gaza Strip.

While neither of these issues appeared to be top points of discussion in Trump’s visit to Saudi Arabia or Qatar, he may hit on geopolitical ties more heavily when it comes to the UAE, particularly given that Abu Dhabi is one of the few Middle Eastern nations that holds normalized diplomatic ties with Israel.

The UAE has ardently opposed Israel’s military operations in the Gaza Strip, has called for a two-state solution, and has rejected Trump’s ‘riviera plans,’ instead favoring an Egypt-reconstruction alternative.

But Abu Dhabi has also maintained relations with the U.S.’ biggest adversaries, including China, Russia and Iran, which could be a topic of conversation during Trump’s one-day visit.

‘As everywhere on this trip, the headlines will likely be dominated by the dollar signs and deal-making,’ Hannah said. ‘But I’m personally most interested in the geopolitical angle of trying to reset the U.S.-Emirati strategic partnership, especially in the context of America’s great power competition with China and to a lesser extent Russia, and regionally with Iran.’

Hannah explained that Trump’s visit to the UAE exemplifies a recommitment by the U.S. economically and militarily to support Abu Dhabi’s ‘stability, security, and success in a dangerous neighborhood’ and could ‘pay real dividends going forward.’

 ‘The UAE’s top leadership has come to believe that putting most of its eggs into the American basket was an increasingly risky bet as one president after another decided that the Middle East was a lost cause — nothing but ‘blood and sand’ as President Trump famously said in his first term — and the country needed to pivot its focus toward Asia,’ he continued. ‘With a country as influential and resource-rich as the UAE, correcting that unhelpful perception and putting the strategic relationship back on a much more positive dynamic is an important goal.’   

The leader of the United Arab Emirates gifted President Donald Trump his country’s highest civilian honor on Thursday. 

‘In recognition of President Donald Trump’s exceptional efforts to strengthen the longstanding ties of friendship and strategic partnership between the United Arab Emirates and the United States of America, I am honored to announce that His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan bestows the Order of Zayed upon President Trump,’ a woman was heard before Trump was presented the award. 

The UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the ‘Order of Zayed is considered the highest civilian honor granted by the UAE, and is bestowed upon world leaders and heads of state.’ 

‘The award bears the name of the UAE’s Founding Father, the late Sheikh Zayed, whose legacy of humanitarianism, international cooperation and the pursuit of peace continues to have an impact throughout the world today,’ the ministry added. 

Trump on Thursday arrived in the United Arab Emirates for his final stop on his Middle East trip this week in a visit that marked the first time a U.S. president has traveled to the nation in nearly 20 years, following President George W. Bush’s trip in 2008. 

In March, the UAE pledged a $1.4 trillion investment in the U.S. economy over the next decade through AI infrastructure, semiconductor, energy and American manufacturing initiatives, including a plan to nearly double U.S. aluminum production by investing in a new smelter for the first time in 35 years.  

On the eve of the president’s visit to the Middle Eastern nation, the State Department also announced a $1.4 billion sale of CH-47 F Chinook helicopters and F-16 fighter jet parts to Abu Dhabi. 

Fox News’ Caitlin McFall contributed to this report. 

Dozens of drones that traipsed over Langley Air Force base in late 2023 revealed an astonishing oversight: Military officials did not believe they had the authority to shoot down the unmanned vehicles over the U.S. homeland. 

A new bipartisan bill, known as the COUNTER Act, seeks to rectify that, offering more bases the opportunity to become a ‘covered facility,’ or one that has the authority to shoot down drones that encroach on their airspace. 

The new bill has broad bipartisan and bicameral support, giving it a greater chance of becoming law. It’s led by Armed Services Committee members Tom Cotton, R-Ark., and Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., in the Senate, and companion legislation is being introduced by August Pfluger, R-Texas, and Chrissy Houlahan, D-Pa., in the House. 

Currently, only half of the 360 domestic U.S. bases are considered ‘covered facilities’ that are allowed to engage with unidentified drones. The legislation expands the narrow definition of a covered facility under current statute to allow all military facilities that have a well-defined perimeter to apply for approval that allows them to engage with drones. 

The legislation also stipulates that the secretary of defense delegate authority to combatant commanders to engage drone attacks, cutting down on time to get approval through the chain of command in emergency situations. 

‘Leaving American military facilities vulnerable to drone incursions puts our service members, the general public and our national security at risk,’ Cotton said. 

For more than two weeks in December 2023, a swarm of mystery drones flew into restricted airspace over Langley, home to key national security facilities and the F-22 Raptor stealth fighters. 

Lack of a standard protocol for such incursions left Langley officials unsure of what to do, other than allow the 20-foot-long drones to hover near their classified facilities. 

To this day, the Pentagon has said little about the incidents, other than to confirm that they occurred. Whether it knows where the drones came from or what they were doing is unclear.

‘As commercial drones become more commonplace, we must ensure that they are not being used to share sensitive information with our adversaries, to conduct attacks against our service members, or otherwise pose a threat to our national security,’ Gillibrand said. 

As defense-minded lawmakers sought more answers, Langley officials referred them to the FBI, who referred them to Northern Command, who referred them to local law enforcement, a congressional source told Fox News Digital last year. 

Gen. Gregory Guillot, chief of Northern Command (NORCOM) and North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), said in February that there were over 350 unauthorized drone detections over military bases last year. 

‘The primary threat I see for them in the way they’ve been operating is detection and perhaps surveillance of sensitive capabilities on our installations,’ he said during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing. ‘There were 350 detections reported last year on military installations, and that was 350 over a total of 100 different installations of all types and levels of security.’

READ THE BILL BELOW. APP USERS: CLICK HERE

A surge in mysterious drone activity over New Jersey late last year and early this year prompted mass confusion. 

Guillot said that regulations on UAV countermeasures created ‘significant vulnerabilities that have been exploited by known and unknown actors.’

He advocated for what the new legislation would do: expand Section 130i of Title 10, which pertains to the protection of  ‘certain facilities and assets from unmanned aircraft.’

‘I would propose and advocate for expansion of 130i [authorities] to include all military installations, not just covered installations,’ Guillot said during the hearing. ‘I’d also like to see the range expanded to slightly beyond the installation, so they don’t have to wait for the threat to get over the installation before they can address it, because many of these systems can use side looking or slant range, and so they could … surveil the base from outside the perimeter. And under the current authorities, we can’t address that.’

House Democrats are opening an investigation into President Donald Trump and his administration’s acceptance of a $400 million private jet from the Qatari government.

Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., the ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, led his fellow Democrats on the panel in a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi and White House counsel David Warrington on Thursday.

They’re specifically asking Bondi to hand over a reported legal memo she wrote that is meant to assert the legality of Trump accepting the plane on behalf of the U.S.

‘Any legal memo purporting to make such a claim would obviously fly in the face of the text of the Constitution’s Foreign Emoluments Clause, which explicitly prohibits the President from accepting any ‘present [or] Emolument… of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State’ unless he has ‘the Consent of Congress,” the letter reads.

‘Accordingly, we are writing to request that you provide the Committee on the Judiciary with these memos immediately as their analysis and conclusions are apparently the basis for the President’s decision to disregard the plain text of the Constitution.’

Raskin and the other Judiciary Committee Democrats went so far as to accuse Trump or people in his orbit of soliciting a bribe from Qatar.

‘President Trump’s statements expressing displeasure with delays in the delivery of his new Boeing aircraft to serve as Air Force One and the timing of this ‘gift’ suggest that President Trump or a member of his Administration may have improperly solicited this ‘nice gesture’ from the Qatari government,’ the Democrats said, citing Trump’s own comments.

‘The fact that, according to President Trump, the plane would not remain in service to the United States but would rather be donated to his presidential library after his term concludes further raises the possibility that this ‘nice gesture’ is intended as a bribe to Donald Trump.’

Multiple outlets reported that Bondi and Warrington drafted a legal memo that said it was ‘legally permissible’ for Trump to accept the plane and then have it transferred to his presidential library when he leaves office.

A source familiar with the discussions told Fox News Digital the memo was drafted by the Office of Legal Counsel and signed by Bondi.

But Democrats suggested the memo was likely not sufficient grounds for Trump to bypass Congress on the issue, and pointed out Bondi herself had previously lobbied on Qatar’s behalf.

‘The Constitution is clear: Congress — not the Attorney General or the White House Counsel — has the exclusive authority to approve or reject a gift ‘of any kind whatever’ given to the President by a foreign government,’ the letter said.

‘We would also note that, even if the Attorney General had a constitutional role to play here, Attorney General Bondi has a significant and obvious conflict of interest given her prior registration as an official agent of the Qatari government and earned no less than $115,000 per month lobbying on its behalf.’

When reached for comment on the matter, a source close to Bondi said only that the letter was received by the Department of Justice (DOJ).

In addition to looking for the memo itself, the Democratic letter also asked for any communications and other records regarding the Boeing plane’s transfer, and discussions of the gift’s legal justifications.

Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee have little power to compel Trump administration officials to comply, given their status as the minority party in the chamber.

But Raskin has been scrutinizing Trump and his inner circle over family foreign ties since the former president’s first term.

The latest letter comes during Trump’s diplomatic visit to the Middle East, where Qatar was one of his stops.

Trump has defended his acceptance of the plane on multiple occasions, arguing he would be a ‘stupid person’ to not take it, while bashing Democrats for their criticism.

‘So the fact that the Defense Department is getting a GIFT, FREE OF CHARGE, of a 747 aircraft to replace the 40 year old Air Force One, temporarily, in a very public and transparent transaction, so bothers the Crooked Democrats that they insist we pay, TOP DOLLAR, for the plane. Anybody can do that! The Dems are World Class Losers!!!’ Trump wrote on Truth Social this week.

Senate Republicans said they knew little when asked by Fox News Digital earlier this week.

Meanwhile, Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., skirted the issue during his most recent weekly press conference.

‘I’m not following all the twists and turns of the charter jet. My understanding is it’s not a personal gift for the president of the United States, and other nations give us gifts all the time, but, I’m going to leave it to the administration. They know much more about the details,’ Johnson told reporters.

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment but did not immediately hear back.

Secretary of State Macro Rubio cast a pessimistic tone ahead of talks in Turkey now set for Friday after both Russian President Vladimir Putin and President Donald Trump said they would not be in attendance. 

The peace talks, which were supposed to happen on Thursday, got thrown into disarray after both Russian and Ukrainian delegations, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, landed in various cities in Turkey as confirmation arrived that not only would Putin not be engaging in the discussions, but neither would senior members from the Kremlin.

According to reports, frustration grew as the delegations and mediators spent much of the day questioning when, and even whether, they would meet on Thursday before the meeting was ultimately pushed to Friday.

‘Frankly, at this point, I think it’s abundantly clear that the only way we’re going to have a breakthrough here is between President Trump and President Putin,’ Rubio told reporters. ‘It’s going to require that level of engagement to have a breakthrough in this matter. 

‘I don’t think anything productive is actually going to happen from this point forward… until they engage in a very frank and direct conversation, which I know President Trump is willing to do,’ he added. 

The peace talks first came about after Putin suggested last week that Ukraine and Russia should engage in direct talks. Zelenskyy agreed and said those talks should be held by the leaders of the warring nations. 

Trump sparked surprise earlier this week when he suggested he might travel to Turkey from the UAE if progress was made in the talks on Thursday, but it was never previously suggested that the U.S. president, who was set to be wrapping up a Middle East tour, would be present for the negotiations. 

The Kremlin on Thursday confirmed Putin was not going to participate in the peace talks. 

Aboard Air Force One on Thursday, Trump suggested Putin did not attend because of a scheduling miscommunication and told reporters that there was no hope on any real progress in negotiations until he and Putin speak.

‘Look, nothing’s going to happen until Putin and I get together. OK?’ Trump said. ‘He was going to go, but he thought I was going to go. He wasn’t going if I wasn’t there. 

‘I don’t believe anything’s going to happen, whether you like it or not, until he and I get together,’ he added.

Any future plans for Trump and Putin to talk remain unknown.

‘What I can say with certainty is that the president’s… willing to stick with [this] as long as it takes to achieve peace,’ Rubio said. ‘What we cannot do, however, is continue to fly all over the world and engage in meetings that are not going to be productive.

‘The only way we’re going to have a breakthrough here is with President Trump sitting face to face with President Putin and determining once and for all whether there’s a path to peace,’ he added.

Zelenskyy did not hold back in expressing his frustration over what he said is proof that Putin’s ‘attitude is unserious.’

‘No time of the meeting, no agenda, no high-level of delegation – this is personal disrespect to Erdoğan, to Trump,’ Zelenskyy reportedly said at a Thursday news conference after meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.