In response to reports that the State Department spent more than $15,00o for rooms at Trump’s Vancouver hotel, DNC spokesman Daniel Wessel released the following statement:

“While everyone is focused on Donald Trump’s ongoing scandals, Trump continues to get exactly what he wants out of the presidency: More money flowing into his pockets. American taxpayers should be outraged.”

Washington Post: State Department spent more than $15,000 for rooms at new Trump hotel in Vancouver

By Amy Brittain 

The State Department spent more than $15,000 to book 19 rooms at the new Trump hotel in Vancouver when members of President Trump’s family headlined the grand opening of the tower in late February.

The hotel bookings — which were released to The Washington Post under a Freedom of Information Act request — reflect the first evidence of State Department expenditures at a Trump-branded property since President Trump took office in January.

The department redacted many of the details on the invoice from the U.S. Consulate General in Vancouver and declined to provide additional information about the nature of the State Department’s presence at the hotel. Although the Secret Service is responsible for protecting the president’s family, the State Department provides assistance with security and logistics for international trips.

The president’s sons, Donald Jr. and Eric, their spouses, and the president’s daughter, Tiffany, were flanked by a heavy security presence on Feb. 28 during a ribbon-cutting ceremony and a VIP party hosted by developer Joo Kim Tiah, the son of one of Malaysia’s wealthiest businessmen.

Since his inauguration, Trump has spent much of his free time at his private business properties, ranging from his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida to his golf courses in Virginia and New Jersey. Meanwhile, Trump’s sons — Donald Jr. and Eric — have traveled to Dubai, Vancouver, Uruguay and Ireland to promote the family’s real estate empire.

Such business trips by Trump’s children have put U.S. government agencies in a necessary — albeit potentially awkward — arrangement of engaging in taxpayer-funded transactions with the president’s private company while at the same time protecting the president’s immediate family. The president has refused critics’ demands to divest his assets and has instead placed his business empire into a trust controlled by sons Don Jr. and Eric.

Last week, the outgoing head of the Office of Government Ethics, Walter M. Shaub Jr., told CBS News that he believes there is “an appearance that the businesses are profiting from his occupying the presidency.”

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