By Allegra Kirkland:
President Donald Trump has officially violated the lease agreement he entered into with the federal government for his Washington, D.C. hotel, Democratic lawmakers charged Monday.
The General Services Administration, which manages the Old Post Office building in which his Trump International Hotel is housed, until now declined to take a position on whether Trump was violating a clause preventing elected officials from benefiting from the contract. Now that he has been sworn in and has formally announced that he will not divest ownership interest in the Trump Organization, House and Senate Democrats want answers.
In twin letters to GSA Acting Administrator Timothy Horne, House and Senate Democrats asked what steps the agency was taking to address this apparent breach of contract.
“The violation of the terms of the lease is no longer hypothetical, as President Trump will soon oversee GSA and appoint a new GSA administrator, effectively making him simultaneously landlord and tenant of the Old Post Office building,” Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Tom Carper (D-DE) wrote.
In another letter, Democratic Reps. Elijah Cummings (DE), Peter DeFazio (OR), Gerald Connolly (VA) and Andre Carson (IN) asked Horne to turn over correspondence with the Trump team to prove it is working to address the issue.
"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 Democrats said. "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.”
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