House Democrats have a new plan to stop Donald Trump
Democrats have passed yet another bill that seeks to protect the American public, even those who continue to blindly support “President” Donald Trump. Apparently, Trump’s out-of-control spending on golf trips and generating revenue for his properties don’t bother his supporters but it should. As the Hill reports, Democrats have passed a new spending bill designed to stop some of America’s bleeding into Trump’s pocket.
The new bill passed by the House last week seeks to prevent Trump from profiting from the federal government by spending federal dollars at his properties. Trump stays exclusively at his own properties, hosts foreign dignitaries at his properties, and takes side golf trips to his properties, claiming to be on business for the United States. This is a crock, and it needs to stop.
The new proposal included in the Democrats’ spending bill was authored by Steve Cohen (D-TN) and Jamie Raskin (D-MD). In proposing this addition, Cohen stated: “The fact is, when we stay at his hotels and his properties, he makes money.” The emoluments clause strictly prohibits a president from profiting from the presidency, either directly or indirectly. Further, any funds that fall in this category are to be reported to Congress, and in the case of Trump, no reports are being made. To bring home exactly what these congressmen are trying to stop, one need look no further than Trump’s habits.
According to the Washington Post, Trump’s trips to his properties since taking office have generated at least $1.6 million in revenue from the federal government. Keep in mind that the most recent figures represent the first half of 2017, so the total is likely much higher. During that time period, the Defense Department paid $12,000 for rooms at Mar-a-Lago, and just two months later, the Department paid $30,000 for meeting and hotel rooms for meetings with officials from China. As if that wasn’t enough to charge the Defense Department, ProPublica reports that Mar-a-Lago sent a $1,000 bill to the State Department for “drinks” during the Chinese visit, which the Department promptly refused to pay. USA Today reports that the Secret Service has spent $59,585 on golf cart rentals, and God only knows what we will pay for the unnecessary trip to Trump’s Doonbeg resort following his trip to London.
Republicans are vehemently protesting this addition to the spending bill, claiming that it will “jeopardize” Trump’s security and that it is merely another “partisan stunt” drummed up by Democrats. Really? How many former presidents owned their own properties and stayed exclusively at those properties? How many former presidents spent 199 of their 884 days in office playing golf and 265 days at their own properties (NBC News)?
This spending bill is not a “partisan stunt.” The evidence is clear that we need this addition to the bill. Republicans claim that Trump doesn’t take a salary, so this shouldn’t matter, but how do they justify him pocketing many times that salary? This is bullshit, and it proves once again that Democrats are looking out for the people while Republicans are looking out for themselves.
Shirley is a former entertainment writer and has worked in the legal field for over 25 years