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For years the Republican said the only reason they spent money at trump's hotel in Washington was because it was convenient. Now they're spending 400 times less. Imagine that.
From its opening in June to the midterm elections, Republican officials, candidates and fundraising committees have spent less than $2,000 at the Waldorf Astoria, according to FEC data. In the same five-month window during the 2018 midterms, Republicans spent more than 400 times that amount with $867K in disbursements to the Trump Hotel. After the property opened in 2016 Republicans spent $266K in its first six months alone. This is only a portion of the spending that took place at the time, as a number of wealthy Republican donors and dark money groups also spent money at Trump’s hotel, without any requirement to disclose that spending to the public.
Trump hotel customers often claimed that the hotel’s downtown location and close proximity to the White House and Capitol explained their patronage. Representative Kevin McCarthy disregarded concerns about spending at Trump International, and said that Trump’s properties are “just like any other hotel.” Throughout Trump’s presidency, McCarthy’s committees spent over a quarter-million dollars at Trump properties and earned Trump’s support for his bid for Speaker of the House. The day after T-Mobile announced its merger with Sprint, nine T-Mobile executives stayed at Trump Hotel. CEO John Legere tweeted that the hotel was “convenient” and that the stay would not “have any influence on regulatory decisions.” Trump later approved the merger. The CEO of an energy trade group and Trump’s own campaign director also asserted that the Trump Hotel was a convenient choice for their events.
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