Trump International Hotel is the epicenter of the President’s business interests in D.C.
If the urge to shop strikes, there’s a Brioni boutique in one corner that offers the same Italian suits the President favors, starting at a few thousand a pop. Downstairs, a 90-minute couples massage at the Spa by Ivanka Trump will set you back $460—roughly the rack rate for a recent night in a standard room, where the Trump brand adorns everything from the shampoo bottles to the wine in the minibar.
Guests can order pricey cocktails and mingle with Washington power brokers at Benjamin’s Bar & Lounge in the hotel.
Foreign governments seem particu­larly keen to patronize Trump’s property. Between Oct. 1 and March 31, lobbyists working on behalf of the kingdom of Saudi Arabia ran up a $270,000 tab on rooms, catering and parking, according to foreign lobbying disclosures filed at the end of May and first reported by the Daily Caller. That stretch coincided with a Saudi lobbying push against legislation that would allow victims of terrorist attacks to sue foreign governments. In May, Trump chose Riyadh as his first foreign stop as President, where he announced an arms deal, gave a major foreign policy speech and participated in a traditional ceremonial sword dance.
The Old Post Office Pavilion is the second tallest building in D.C., after the Washington Monument.
Yet domestic groups have found reasons to do business there as well. Last year, evangelist Franklin Graham planned a global conference on Christian persecution at the Mayflower Hotel for this May. Two months after Trump was inaugurated, Graham decided to add a closing banquet at Trump International, where he also reserved rooms for select guests, which meant ferrying them between hotels in a fleet of black SUVs. Among the guests was a delegation from Moscow headed by Metropolitan Hilarion Alfeyev, a top cleric of the Russian Orthodox Church and a close ally of Vladimir Putin, who met during the conference with Pence. A spokesperson for Graham said neither the Mayflower nor a nearby Hilton could accommodate the banquet, and up to 40 rooms came as part of the package.
Which doesn’t mean it’s illegal. Trump does not seem bothered by the appearance of conflicts, often doing his public business in his private holdings. During the campaign, Trump visited his properties across the U.S. as well as his golf courses in Scotland. He used televised campaign events to promote Trump products, including bottled water and wine. As President, he decamps on many weekends for his golf courses in Virginia and New Jersey, trips that guarantee free publicity from the press corps. He took Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Chinese President Xi Jinping on separate trips to his Florida estate, Mar-a-Lago, where the club entry fee doubled after his election, to $200,000.
Trump denies any impropriety. “The law’s totally on my side,” he said in November. “The President can’t have a conflict of interest.” Or rather, as his lawyers point out, as President he is not subject to federal conflict-of-interest laws, which offer broad latitude for the Commander in Chief. And his sprawling business empire was front and center on the campaign trail, with aides highlighting a track rec­ord of delivering projects under budget and ahead of schedule.
The firewall between the Trump presidency and the Trump Organization has turned out to be less than airtight. His sons have participated in political meetings and are sought-after speakers at ­Republican functions across the U.S. Eric Trump’s wife Lara is employed by the digital firm working for Trump’s re-election campaign. Meanwhile, the company, according to internal documents released in May by Democrats in Congress, has since determined that it is not practical to segregate all foreign sources of income, arguing that such an effort would not “even be possible without an inordinate amount of time, resources and specialists.” The donation will be made on an annual basis at the end of each calendar year, according to a Trump Organization spokesperson. It’s unclear who would ensure that the company complies with its pledge.
In response to the unusual arrangements, multiple groups have filed civil lawsuits against Trump, aiming to force the courts to step in. Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), a progressive watchdog group, filed suit alleging that he has violated the Constitution by accepting emoluments. Cork Wine Bar, a D.C. restaurant, filed another suit that claims Trump’s stake in the hotel’s restaurants gives it an unfair competitive advantage in the city’s fine-dining market. House and Senate Democrats are also planning to sue Trump to stop emoluments violations, according to Politico, arguing that he is breaking the law by continuing to profit from his businesses while serving as President.
Luxury SUVs line up outside of the hotel’s presidential ballroom.
The story of Trump and the Old Post Office Pavilion is a tale of grand ambition, outsize promises and a complex deal that left a trail of criticism. Built in the 1890s, it is the capital’s second tallest structure, a landmark of gray granite and steel girders with a glass atrium and an iconic clock tower that overlooks Pennsylvania Avenue and the Mall. Over the years, it had become an aging orphan nobody wanted, scheduled for demolition several times over the past century, only to be spared by preservationists.
With a nudge from Congress, the General Services Administration (GSA), began soliciting bids in 2011 from private companies looking to redevelop the building. Trump put together an appealing proposal, promising to pump some $200 million into a renovation and partnering with a venerable D.C. architect who had worked for years to save the building. Trump lined up financing from Colony Capital, a major developer run by his close friend and future inaugural committee chairman, Tom Barrack. And he promised to pay the federal government $3 million annually in rent for 60 years. GSA picked Trump from a crowded group of bidders, including such hotel chains as Hilton and Hyatt.
And so, shortly after the election, congressional Democrats summoned a GSA official for a briefing about how it would handle the situation. During the meeting in the Rayburn Building on Capitol Hill, the GSA official said the agency had concluded that Trump would be in breach of contract upon Inauguration, according to a letter signed by four House Democrats and confirmed by two other people present.
In late May, Tang took TIME on a tour of the hotel’s gilded spaces, from the townhouse suite—replete with a gym and private dining room—to the ballroom where workmen were breaking down the remnants of a wedding. Privacy is part of the package, she noted. There are no public boards listing the day’s conclaves, and there are separate entrances for VIPs. As a policy, the hotel doesn’t reveal who has held events or booked accommodations.
As its hotel in Washington flourishes, the Trump Organization is working to find new ways to extend the brand. On June 5, it unveiled a new midscale hotel chain, under the patriotic name of American Idea. It plans to debut it in Mississippi. The target demographic includes some of the same voters who lifted the President into the White House.
The heart of the hotel is a nine-story atrium under a skylight.