In its first two months in business, Donald Trump’s controversial Washington, D.C., hotel losses were yuge.
The Trump International Hotel fell short of revenue projections by nearly $2.3 million in September and October, losing $1.1 million in the first two months, Politico reported. Also, several Democratic members of Congress are arguing that Trump violated the terms of his lease with the General Services Administration when he became president since it bars public officials from benefiting from the deal. Reps. Elijah Cummings, Gerald Connolly, Andre Carson and Peter DeFazio are asking the GSA to turn over its correspondence with Trump’s company to show how it’s addressing the violation.
“Our hope has always been that President Trump would resolve these breach-of-lease and conflict of interest issues prior to being sworn in as President on January 20,” the Congressmen said in a letter. “Unfortunately, President Trump has refused to address these concerns, and taxpayer dollars may now be squandered as career public servants are forced to take remedial action to cure this breach.”
Representatives for Trump have argued that he hasn’t violated the terms of the lease because he was the old post office’s tenant before he became president. Trump plans to donate proceeds from foreign officials who stay at the hotel to assuage concerns that as president he’s accepting money from foreign dignitaries. [Politico] — Kathryn Brenzel