Trump must divest from DC hotel, lawmakers say

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON

President-elect Donald Trump must divest from his Washington, D.C. hotel in order to comply with terms of his lease agreement, congressional Democrats said Wednesday.

Trump will "be in breach" of the contract unless he "fully divests" by the time he is sworn in on Jan. 20, 2017, according to lawmakers who were briefed by the General Services Administration on the matter.

"The Deputy Commissioner made clear that Mr. Trump must divest himself not only of managerial control, but of all ownership interest as well," they said in a letter to the internal government watchdog.

Four Democrats that have key roles in overseeing government contracts co-signed the letter.

They include ranking member on the House Oversight and Government Reform committee, Elijah Cummings, House subcommittee on Government Operations ranking member Gerald Connolly, Peter DeFazio of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, and Andre Carson, the ranking member on the Economic Development, Public Buildings and Emergency Management subcommittee.

Trump secured the lease to the Old Post Office building, which is just blocks away from the White House, in 2013.

His self-named hotel there opened just two weeks before Election Day earlier this year after expansive re-development of the site.

But a section of the governing lease reads: "No member or delegate to Congress, or elected official of the Government of the United States shall be admitted to any share or part of this Lease, or to any benefit that may arise therefrom."

The provision amounts to a "categorical ban on the President of the United States or any other elected official having any financial interest in this lease", the lawmakers said, noting that the government watchdog agreed.

Trump's daughter, Ivanka, has served as the main facilitator with the agency in the past. But her appointment to Trump's transition team has already created a conflict of interest, according the letter.

"Ms. Trump is all of the following -- the President-elect's daughter, a top presidential transition team official, a lessee under the contract GSA oversees, and the primary contact for GSA on the lease. The conflicts of interest are obvious," lawmakers wrote.