John,
Political committees have spent $931,129 at Trump properties since President Trump’s second inauguration, according to CREW’s analysis of FEC filings.
That’s a massive payday for the Trump Organization, thanks to spending by Republican political groups, including the RNC, which led the spending which led the spending with $737,248, and with 14 state parties and 54 sitting House Republicans also making payments.
This spending is yet another sign of the entanglement of Trump’s personal financial interests and national political affairs—and of Republicans’ continued willingness to turn a blind eye to it.
CREW will not ignore Trump’s profiteering. We’re working to shine a light on his conflicts of interest and hold him accountable every chance we get. If you want to help us keep up this work, please donate today to support CREW’s fight for accountability →
A staggering 80% of the total amount spent at Trump properties came from Republican Party groups like the RNC, state parties and the NRCC. Pro-Trump super PAC MAGA, Inc. spent $42,877 to rent Trump properties for political events that raised tens of millions of dollars.
Fifty-four House members spent a total of $123,579 through campaigns, leadership PACs and joint fundraising committees.
While members of Congress have a constitutional responsibility to conduct oversight over the executive branch and the president, the GOP’s enthusiasm for pouring money into Trump’s businesses shows their abdication of their responsibility to hold him accountable for his profiteering.
Already this term, a quarter of the Republicans’ 219-member caucus in the House has spent money at Trump properties. This is a testament to their embrace of Trump’s conflicts of interest, and a glaring contrast to his first term.
From Trump’s 2017 inauguration through July of that year, only 13 House Republicans’ committees recorded spending at Trump properties, for a total of $45,001.
Spending this year also differs from his first term: in the same period of 2017, political groups spent only $213,457, and none of this was at Trump’s Florida properties. Meanwhile, this term, 96 percent of political spending was at Trump’s Florida properties.
This uptick in political spending at Trump properties is not new. Before Trump announced his first presidential campaign, political committees had never spent more than $100,000 total at Trump properties in any year.
Now party leaders have embraced the merging of their interests with Trump’s bottom line: the RNC regularly spends hundreds of thousands of dollars to host events at Trump’s properties.
Trump himself has spent over a third of his days in office this term visiting his properties. In doing so, he’s sending a powerful message: access to Trump is for sale through his businesses.
Spending at Trump’s properties is just one small part of his massive conflicts of interest, but it still raises concerns about Trump putting his financial interests first.
That’s why CREW’s working to hold Trump accountable and ensure he’s working for the people—not his bottom line. Our work is only possible with the support of this grassroots team, so if you want to join our fight to hold Trump accountable, please donate today →
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