Trump strikes deal with Boeing for new Air Force One planes

EXCLUSIVE: President Trump has struck an "informal" deal with Boeing for new Air Force One planes, a White House official tells Fox News.

"President Trump has reached an informal deal with Boeing on a fixed price contract for the new Air Force One Program. Thanks to the President's negotiations, the contract will save the taxpayers more than $1.4 Billion," Deputy Press Secretary Hogan Gidley said.

The deal is worth $3.9 billion. Officials say it represents $1.4 billion in savings from original estimates of over $5 billion for two airplanes and related costs.

The president has been working to negotiate a new Air Force One deal ever since the presidential transition period in late 2016, when he complained on Twitter about the cost of the Boeing project and threatened to cancel the order.

He said at the time the costs were "out of control."

Defense One reported last week that Trump was in the final stages of negotiating the deal for two new airplanes, and met with Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg at the White House.

The negotiations covered the overhaul of two 747 airliners.

John Roberts currently serves as the chief White House correspondent for FOX News Channel (FNC). He joined the network as a senior national correspondent in January 2011, based in the Atlanta bureau.

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