On October 10, 2025, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth stood at the Pentagon beside Qatar’s defense minister, Saoud bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, and delivered a statement that would ignite a political firestorm across the U.S. “The Pentagon is signing a letter of acceptance to build a Qatari Emiri Air Force facility at the Mountain Home Airbase in Idaho,” Hegseth announced. The new facility, he explained, would host a contingent of Qatari F-15 fighter jets and pilots, aiming to enhance combined training and boost interoperability between the two nations’ militaries. For some, it sounded like a straightforward extension of a longstanding military partnership. For others, it was a red flag—one that quickly set off alarms on both sides of the political aisle.
Almost immediately, the announcement triggered a tidal wave of backlash. Critics from the MAGA wing of the Republican Party, including prominent figures like Steve Bannon and Laura Loomer, erupted in outrage. Loomer, a right-wing activist and close Trump ally, took to social media to voice her disgust: “No foreign country should have a military base on US soil. Especially Islamic countries.” She went even further, writing, “Never thought I’d see Republicans give terror financing Muslims from Qatar a MILITARY BASE on US soil so they can murder Americans.” Bannon, meanwhile, called the decision “screwed up” and attributed it to what he described as the “Israel First Crowd” influencing U.S. foreign policy. “This whole thing is so screwed up,” Bannon said on a podcast appearance. “I have no idea what’s going on, and I’m sure we’ll find out more... This is part of the price we’re paying for the Israel First Crowd... and others that had support for Netanyahu.” (Daily Mail)
The outrage wasn’t confined to social media. Conservative commentator Amy Malek weighed in, highlighting Qatar’s vast investments in the U.S.: “Qatar has spent $100 billion buying influence in the U.S., and it’s paying off. I am in shock that Washington would approve a deal letting Qatar, Hamas’s #1 financier, open a Qatari Air Force facility on U.S. soil.” (Wall Street Journal) Loomer, for her part, didn’t stop at one post. She questioned whether the new facility would open the door to “militarized Muslim Brotherhood Mosques all over Idaho” and even suggested the state’s Christian identity was under threat. “Just wait till one of those Qataris walks into a church and guns down Americans once they are on US soil. Does this mean the call to prayer will be broadcasted in Idaho five times a day?” (Daily Mail)
But as the uproar grew, the story took another turn. Vice President JD Vance appeared on Fox News’s Sunday Morning Futures two days after Hegseth’s announcement, attempting to douse the flames. “This is largely a fake story,” Vance told host Maria Bartiromo. “We continue to have, with countries that we work with, we have relationships where sometimes their pilots work on our bases, sometimes that we train together, sometimes we work together in other ways. The reporting that somehow there’s going to be a Qatari base on United States soil, that’s just not true.” He added, “We’re not going to let a foreign country have an actual base on American soil. So there’s a bit of misreporting on that, as there often is.” (Fox News, Nexstar Media)
Was this simply a case of miscommunication? According to Qatar’s media attaché in Washington, there would be no stand-alone Qatari air base in Idaho. Instead, Qatar had made a 10-year commitment to build and maintain a dedicated training facility within an existing U.S. air base. “Rather, Qatar has made an initial 10-year commitment to construct and maintain a dedicated facility within an existing US air base, intended for advanced training and to enhance interoperability in defending and advancing our shared interests around the world,” a Qatari embassy spokesperson said. (Daily Mail) Defense Secretary Hegseth himself clarified later that day on social media: “Qatar will not have their own base in the United States—not anything like a base. We control the existing base, like we do with all partners.” (Wall Street Journal)
Such arrangements, it turns out, are not new. Mountain Home Air Force Base already hosts Singapore’s air force F-15SG jet fighters as part of a similar training partnership. U.S. Air Force officials noted that the new facility would include hangars for the Qatari F-15QA jets, purchased through foreign military sales. Qatar, a small Gulf nation with limited airspace, has long relied on U.S. partnerships to train its pilots and maintain its fleet. Its Al Udeid Air Base is the largest American military installation in the Middle East and serves as the U.S. air war command center for the region. Qatar also proved vital as a hub for the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. (Wall Street Journal)
Still, the controversy has shone a spotlight on the Trump administration’s deepening ties with Qatar. In recent years, the White House has credited Qatar with helping to secure a Gaza cease-fire between Israel and Hamas. Earlier this month, President Trump signed an executive order increasing U.S. protection of Qatar after an Israeli airstrike in Doha killed six people, including a Qatari security officer. The order declared that any attack on Qatar would be regarded as a threat to the peace and security of the United States. (Wall Street Journal, Nexstar Media)
Trump’s relationship with Qatar has not been without its critics. Loomer, who has previously lambasted the administration for accepting a $400 million luxury Boeing jet from the Qatari government, wrote, “I have to call a spade a spade. We cannot accept a $400 million ‘gift’ from jihadists in suits.” The jet, after modifications, is expected to serve as Air Force One. (Daily Mail, Wall Street Journal)
Meanwhile, some observers have raised questions about the broader regional implications. Will the U.S.’s growing partnership with Qatar undermine its relationship with the United Arab Emirates, a crucial Gulf ally and regional rival to Qatar? The answer remains unclear, but it’s a question that will likely persist as the Idaho project moves forward.
For now, the official line from the Pentagon and the White House is that the Mountain Home facility will not be a foreign base, but rather a collaborative training site under U.S. control. “We are continuing to work with a number of our Arab friends to ensure that we are able to enforce this peace, but we’re not gonna let a foreign country have an actual base on American soil,” Vance insisted. (Fox News)
Yet, as the dust settles, the episode has highlighted the fraught intersection of national security, foreign policy, and domestic politics in today’s America. The Idaho facility may be just another chapter in the long, complicated relationship between the U.S. and its Gulf allies—but it’s one that has laid bare the anxieties and divisions simmering beneath the surface.
