Portland hotel chain founded by Trump ambassador says boycott is attack on employees

A hotel chain owned by Gordon Sondland, President Trump’s ambassador to the European Union, is pushing back on a proposed boycott from a Democratic lawmaker, warning it would hurt workers.

Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) on Wednesday had called for a boycott of Sondland’s hotels until the Trump administration official complies with House Democrats’ request for documents in its impeachment probe.

Sondland is the founder and chairman of Provenance Hotels, a chain of six hotels in Portland. The area makes up a large part of Blumenauer’s district.{mosads}

“We are saddened to have our Congressman Earl Blumenauer call for a boycott that would put the livelihoods of thousands of his own constituents in peril. This attack on our employees is unwarranted,” Provenance Hotels spokeswoman Ellen Carmichael told Oregon Public Broadcasting.

Jim McDermott, Sondland’s personal attorney, added in a separate statement to the radio station: “Congressman Blumenauer’s irresponsible attempt to hurt a homegrown business that supports hundreds of jobs in our local economy is just shameful and ought to outrage all Oregonians.”

Blumenauer called for the boycott on Twitter, arguing that “no one who cares about America should do any business or stay at any of Gordon Sondland’s hotels until he fulfills his duty as a citizen to testify & turn over all relevant documents to the House.”

No one who cares about America should do any business or stay at any of Gordon Sondland’s hotels until he fulfills his duty as a citizen to testify & turn over all relevant documents to the House.

Here’s a list of his hotels: https://t.co/a2MvRc8tVs

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— Earl Blumenauer (@repblumenauer) October 9, 2019

Sondland, who finds himself embroiled in House Democrats’ ongoing impeachment inquiry against President Trump, reportedly talked to Ukraine about how to respond to Trump’s request for Ukraine to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden and his son, Hunter Biden.

Last week, Sondland voluntarily offered to appear before a House committee to testify about what he knew, but the Trump administration blocked him from testifying.