No elected official is allowed to hold the lease…
President-elect Donald Trump must give up his stake in the Washington-based Trump International Hotel prior to his inauguration in January, or else he risks breaching his government contract.
The General Services Administration has concluded that the President-elect will be in violation of the lease for his hotel when he is sworn in on inauguration day unless he surrenders all financial interest in the project.
The hotel is leased from a government-owned site, the Old Post Office, but rules dictate that no elected official is allowed to hold the lease.
Democratic lawmakers addressed a letter to the GSA’s administrator, where they aired the suggestion of a potential conflict.
“The Deputy Commissioner informed our staff that GSA assesses that Mr. Trump will be in breach of the lease agreement the moment he takes office on January 20, 2017, unless he fully divests himself of all financial interests in the lease for the Washington D.C. hotel. The Deputy Commissioner made clear that Mr. Trump must divest himself not only of managerial control, but of all ownership interest as well,” Rep. Elijah Cummings of Maryland and three others wrote.
Trump had previously announced a press conference for this week to hand over control of his business empire to his children, but earlier this week he postponed said press conference with the indication that it would take place in January sometime.
However, it’s unclear what exactly can be done to force Trump to surrender his financial interest in the hotel should he refuse to give it up.
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