The Trump Organization is considering selling the rights to its lucrative D.C. hotel, partially as a result of criticism about potential conflicts of interest for the president, per a report in the Wall Street Journal.
“People are objecting to us making so much money on the hotel, and therefore we may be willing to sell,” Eric Trump, President Donald Trump’s son, told the outlet.
When Trump became president, he declined to divest from his business interests, instead putting his sons in charge of his many business ventures and removing himself from daily operations. He has consistently faced criticism for this decision, and accusations that he is using the presidency to enrich himself.
One of the most prominent of those allegations comes from the attorneys general for D.C. and Maryland, Karl Racine and Brian Frosh, respectively. The AGs are taking Trump to court for allegedly violating the emoluments clause of the Constitution. Their lawsuit holds that foreign leaders are spending money at Trump’s businesses—including the hotel in D.C.—in an attempt to influence his foreign policy decisions.
The Trump Organization negotiated a 60-year lease for the historic Old Post Office building with the General Services Administration, a federal agency, in 2013. Trump opened the hotel in 2016, shortly before he was elected president. While Democrats said the arrangement constituted a conflict of interest and a violation of the lease, the GSA ultimately ruled that Trump was in the clear.
Eric Trump also told WSJ that they’re considering selling for simple financial reasons.
“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,” he said in a statement.
The company is hoping to net $500 million for the lease rights to the building, which used to be the Old Post Office, per WSJ. Counting all extensions, the lease could last nearly 100 years, per the outlet.
Hospitality experts told Forbes that the $500 million lease price is far more than the hotel is worth.
The Trump organization has not responded to DCist’s requests for comment on the potential sale.
Natalie Delgadillo