State Department spent $15K on Trump hotel rooms: report

The Department of State paid more than $15,000 for rooms at the Trump International Hotel & Tower Vancouver upon its opening in February, according to The Washington Post.

The Post obtained the bookings through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request and noted that aspects of the invoice from Vancouver’s U.S. Consulate General had been redacted.

The State Department refused to give more details about why the agency was at the hotel, but noted that Foggy Bottom helps with trips abroad. President Trump’s two oldest sons, their wives and Trump’s younger daughter, Tiffany, attended the hotel’s opening.

{mosads}The $15,000 expenditure is Foggy Bottom’s first disbursement to a property bearing Trump’s name since the president took office, the Post reported.

The State Department declined to answer the newspaper’s questions about who stayed at the Vancouver hotel. 

“Embassy and consulate personnel work with the Secret Service to provide assistance on security matters as necessary for conditions in the particular host country,” an official with State told the newspaper. “Our policy is not to discuss the details of security matters.”

A spokesperson for the Secret Service said it is typical for the agency to “utilize our partners at the State Department to assist us in facilitating our security plan” during trips abroad. 

The Trump Organization, which the president handed over to his sons before taking office in order to avoid potential conflicts of interest, has a licensing deal with the Vancouver building but is not the owner. 

Democratic lawmakers, reporters and watchdog groups have raised concerns over potential conflicts of interest for the president due to the family business empire, while some have argued Trump should more fully divest.