A report released Friday by Democrats on the House Oversight Committee shows that Donald Trump has no control over how much Secret Service stays at his hotels are charged to other guests, especially foreign dignitaries. He has filed a claim with the government many times.
Describing the former U.S. president’s tenure as “the world’s biggest get-rich-quick scheme,” the report’s authors cited documents obtained under subpoena from Mr. Trump’s accountants, Mazars, and the Quoting accommodation records from international hotels. From September 2017 to August 2018.
The hotel paid “more than 300 percent more than the government-authorized per diem” for Secret Service hotel rooms, according to the report.
Furthermore, “Former President Trump’s D.C. hotel not only routinely charged the Secret Service higher rates than government rates, but also lowered rates than other guests, including foreign royals and Chinese business associates. He also frequently charged exorbitant fees to the Secret Service.”
Eric Trump previously said the Trump Organization allows Secret Service agents to “stay in our facilities for free.” But the report casts doubt on that claim, saying the agency said it was charging “far more than the government-approved per diem rate and even hundreds of others, including the Qatari royal family and some of the rooms rented by the Qatari royal family.” They were being charged many times more than regular customers.” Chinese business interests — for rooms used by agents protecting members of the Trump family. ”
The report follows investigative reports produced when Democrats controlled the House Oversight Committee. After Republicans won the House majority in 2023, the new committee chairman, James Comer, halted the committee’s lawsuit seeking records and refused to issue new subpoenas. The report by the committee’s Democratic minority is based on previously obtained documents.
A 156-page report released by House Democrats in January on Trump’s business dealings shows that four companies owned by Trump’s family conglomerates received a total of at least $7.8 million from 20 countries during his four years in the White House. He pointed out that he had been paid.
During Trump’s presidency, Republican lawmakers regularly used the Trump International Hotel during their visits to Washington. The committee’s Democratic members include three people appointed by President Trump to serve on the federal bench, eight ambassadors, five people including Dinesh D’Souza and Ken Carson, who later won presidential pardons, and three people appointed by President Trump to the federal bench, as well as five people who went on official trips to the state. He cited numerous other state and federal officials who were in the area.
The U.S. Constitution’s Emoluments Clause stipulates that the president may not receive any payment other than a salary from the federal government. Previous presidents have retreated from business interests that could violate this provision. Jimmy Carter famously sold his Georgia peanut farms before taking office. Mr. Trump has refused to do so, seeking to shield his personal and business finances from public scrutiny.
In January 2021, the U.S. Supreme Court dismissed two lawsuits accusing Trump of violating the Emoluments Clause, ruling that the issue was not an issue because he was no longer president.
In previous comments, Trump has made light of the compensation issue, comparing it to the revenue President Barack Obama made selling books to foreign universities.
The hotel generated about $150 million in revenue during President Trump’s term, but suffered a net loss of about $70 million, largely due to the pandemic, according to the oversight board’s previous report.
President Trump sold the lease on the 263-room hotel, known as the Old Post Office Building, to Florida-based investment group CGI Merchant Group in 2022. Since the hotel reopened in June 2023 as part of the Waldorf Astoria chain, the Republican group spending is rapidly increasing.
