BREAKING NEWS: Donald Trump’s D.C. hotel is FOR SALE as son Eric claims ‘people object to us making so much money’ – but Democrats probe claims of ‘corruption’
- The Trump Organization is looking at selling the Trump hotel in Washington D.C.
- ‘People are objecting to us making so much money on the hotel, and therefore we may be willing to sell,’ Eric Trump told Wall Street Journal
- Company wants over $500 million – or $2 million per key
- President Trump has been accused of violating emoluments clause of Constitution with his family’s ownership of hotel
- Hotel is in Old Post Office building in D.C., just blocks from the White House
- Family leases property from GSA and wants to sell rights to the lease
- Lease lasts about 100 years
Donald Trump’s business arm is looking at selling his flagship Washington D.C. hotel – just minutes down Pennsylvania Avenue from the White House – partly because of criticism the family is facing for profiting from the property while the president sits in the Oval Office.
‘People are objecting to us making so much money on the hotel, and therefore we may be willing to sell,’ Eric Trump, an executive vice president at the Trump Organization, told The Wall Street Journal.
The firm has hired the real-estate firm JLL to market the Trump International Hotel, which is located in the Old Post Office and leased to the family by the General Services Administration.
Eric Trump said the family is looking at selling their Washington D.C. hotel
They want more than $500 million – or $2 million per room key
President Trump is facing lawsuits for violating the Emoluments Clause of Constitution
‘Since we opened our doors, we have received tremendous interest in this hotel and as real-estate developers, we are always willing to explore our options,’ Eric Trump told the newspaper.
The Trump Organization hopes to get more than $500 million for lease rights – which comes out to about $2 million per room key – and that would make it one of the most expensive hotel sells in the country.
The firm’s lease of the property runs about 100 years. The average room books for around $300 to $400 a night.
On February 6, 2012, GSA announced that it had chosen The Trump Organization to lease the property. The company pledged to spend $200 million to turn the structure into a 250-room luxury hotel.
The hotel has been at the center of allegations and lawsuits that charge President Trump violated the Constitution’s ban on emoluments, which forbids a president from accepting gifts from foreign governments without the permission of Congress, with his ownership of the property.
The president is a frequent visitor to his DC property – dining there at its steak restaurant and hosting Republican Party fundraisers.
Last month, a federal court ruled fellow hoteliers could sue the family over the property.
The plaintiffs, including owners of high-end hotels and restaurants in New York City and Washington, argued they are harmed by competing with Trump’s businesses over the exact same customer base when customers know that giving business to Trump’s establishments might secure his favor in governmental decisions.
Trump has made appearances at his resorts, golf clubs and a hotel in Washington frequently since he was sworn in as president in January 2017.
Representatives of at least 22 foreign governments have spent money at Trump Organization properties, NBC News reported in June.
The president received $40.8 million in revenue from his Trump International Hotel in Washington, DC, just blocks from the White House, in 2018, according to his financial disclosures for that year.
House Democrats have launched an investigation into Trump’s businesses practices, including whether he violated the Emoluments Clause, and the issue is being heard in the federal courts.
Earlier this year a federal appeals court dismissed an Emoluments Clause lawsuit filed against Trump by the state of Maryland and the District of Columbia.
But, on Tuesday, the 4th US Circuit Court of Appeals voted to rehear that case.
Eric Trump, Donald Trump Jr., Donald Trump and Ivanka Trump break ground at the Trump International Hotel Washington, D.C. in July 2014
The Trump hotel in Washington DC resides in the Old Post Office building, just blocks from the White House
The Trump family decision to sell their opulent hotel in the nation’s capitol comes after the president reversed a decision to hold next year’s G20 conference at his Trump Doral property near Miami.
The original decision to host a gathering a world leaders at a property owned by the president led to a harsh round of criticism and the president’s reversal came after members of his own party expressed concerned and said they would find difficulty defending the move.
Donald Trump decided against selling his business after he was elected. He also declined to place his interests in a blind trust – as many elected officials do. Instead he handed over control to his eldest sons, Don J. and Eric.