Law Prof: President Trump Can’t Own D.C. Hotel

When Donald Trump assumes the presidency in January, he will immediately be in violation of the contract that sets the terms of the lease on his 263-room luxury hotel in Washington, D.C., according to Steven Schooner, government procurement expert and law professor at George Washington University School of Law. The Trump International Hotel is housed within the headquarters of the U.S. Post Office. Trump signed a 60-year lease for the building with the General Services Administration, but within that contract is a provision specifically starting: “No member or delegate to Congress, or elected official of the Government of the United States or the Government of the District of Columbia, shall be admitted to any share or part of this Lease or to any benefit that may arise therefrom.” Once Trump becomes president, he will effectively be both tenant and landlord of the building. Schooner says the GSA should terminate the lease before Trump is sworn in to avoid that conflict of interest and others, including those stemming from foreign diplomats or special-interest groups booking rooms at the hotel to curry favor with the new president.