Tell Congress: No Bailout For Trump’s Hotels

When President Trump took office, we demanded that he do what all other modern presidents have: divest from his businesses. That’s the only way to avoid the huge conflicts of interest that’d obviously come from running the country and a multi-million dollar business at the same time.

Trump refused. And for his entire term, his administration has steered public dollars towards his properties -- while foreign diplomats have tried to curry favor with him by spending thousands of dollars at his hotels.

Now we’re facing the prospect of Trump getting millions in bailout money from Congress’ upcoming stimulus package -- public money that should be going to help ordinary Americans.

When asked specifically whether he’d accept a bailout, Trump said: “I don’t know… I have hotels. Everybody knew I had hotels when I got elected. They knew I was a successful person when I got elected, so it’s one of those things.”

That’s right -- Trump is open to diverting money away from critical needs into his pocket. And as it stands, the Senate GOP's stimulus package doesn't adequately fund our healthcare system -- nor does it provide the more than $2 billion in funding elections experts say we need to protect every voter’s rights.

It’s a huge conflict of interest for every member of his party -- who depend on Trump's favor for their political survival. Trump is forcing them to choose between funneling millions of taxpayer dollars into his pocket -- or angering a president who values blind loyalty over all else.

It’s a clear test for every lawmaker of whether they’re loyal to their oath of office or to the president. And every one of them should reject any proposal that would allow Trump to get bailout or stimulus money for his businesses.

Bailing out Trump’s business empire would be a clear-cut violation of our Constitution’s Emoluments Clause, which forbids the president from receiving money from the government -- precisely to prevent situations like the one we’re in right now.

It’s incredible that we even have to say this, but: President Trump shouldn’t be looking for ways to fatten his wallet during a national crisis where lives are at stake.

Congress must write into any stimulus package it passes that the American people won’t have to bail out the President's hotels. And, we must demand adequate transparency and oversight provisions, so the public knows in a timely fashion who IS getting the bailout money. Please add your name today.