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Trump Organization weighing repurchase of iconic DC hotel
Reports indicate President-elect Donald Trump is considering repurchasing the Waldorf-Astoria, formerly known as the Trump International Hotel, and rebranding it under the Trump name. FOX 5's Tom Fitzgerald has the latest details.
WASHINGTON - D.C. may soon see the return of the Trump International Hotel.
Reports indicate President-elect Donald Trump is considering repurchasing the Waldorf-Astoria, formerly known as the Trump International Hotel, and rebranding it under the Trump name.
In a recent interview with the New York Post, Eric Trump, executive vice president of the Trump Organization, said, "The Trump family saved the hotel once, and if asked, would save it again."
The report notes that the hotel, sold by the Trump Organization in 2022 and renamed Waldorf-Astoria, has seen declining performance since the rebranding, with investors now exploring a sale.
While the potential return of the Trump Hotel has excited many conservatives online, critics are raising ethical concerns about its implications. Noah Bookbinder, president of the Committee for Ethics and Responsibility in Washington, expressed worries about conflicts of interest. "During the first Trump administration, the D.C. hotel was a one-stop shop for people to curry favor with the President and the administration," Bookbinder told FOX 5.
Trump family sells DC Hotel to Miami based investor group
The lease to the Washington, D.C., hotel run by Donald Trump’s family company while he was president, a symbol of his power to GOP politicians who gathered there and of corruption to his critics, has been sold by his family company to a Miami-based investor fund.
Former Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh echoed these concerns, citing past lawsuits targeting the Trump Hotel for alleged violations of the Constitution’s Emoluments Clause.
"He monetized his candidacy, and it looks like he’s going to be trying to monetize the presidency," Frosh said. "This gives people a way to curry favor with the administration by doing business with the President’s hotel."
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Protesters project statement onto Trump hotel
In the past we've seen the hotel marked by paint and defaced in some form or fashion protesting a Trump presidency, but one group peacefully protested without destroying property, they projected their statement onto the hotel.
Congressman Gerry Connolly (D-VA), the ranking Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, also criticized the possible move.
In a statement to FOX 5, Connolly called the hotel "a sandwich board of conflicts of interest," adding, "He now returns to dip his finger back into the pot."