Alicia Abelson
WMAL.com
WASHINGTON — (WMAL) President-elect Donald Trump may face an immediate conflict of interest on Pennsylvania Avenue the moment he takes office in January.
The Chief Executive-to-be’s Trump International Hotel is housed in Washington’s Old Post Office Pavilion, which is owned by the General Service Administration (GSA). According to two former administrators with the Office of Management and Budget, the lease between the Trump Organization and the General Service Administration, which dates back to 2013, includes a clause that states that elected officials cannot be involved in or have benefit from the arrangement. The lease also specifies $180 million in payments over 60 years between the Trump Organization and the GSA.
As President of the United States, Trump will have full jurisdiction to appoint the administrator of the General Service Administration, making Trump both the landlord and tenant to the Old Post Office Pavilion.
The conflict of interest is outlined in an Op-Ed piece that was published in Government Executive magazine. The authors, Steven Schooner and Daniel Gordon who are both former government officials of the Office of Management and Budget, suggested that the GSA “immediately end the hotel lease relationship, before Trump becomes president.”
While most federal government contracts allow the government to terminate the contract on claims of government convenience, the Generals Service Administration could run into litigation troubles. Schooner and Gordon found that “the Trump hotel lease explicitly prohibits the GSA from exercising that longstanding, well-established, Congressionally-mandated right.”
The General Service Administration told the Washington Post it “plans to coordinate with the president-elect’s team to address any issues that may be related to the Old Post Office building.”
During his time on the campaign trail, Trump utilized the ribbon cutting ceremony of the Trump International Hotel as a campaign event as well. He has previously stated that his business would be placed into the hands of his children, who are also currently invested in his presidential transition team.
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