Democrats propose ban on US government employees booking rooms in Donald Trump’s hotels

Conflict of interest concerns continue to arise around billionaire President's business ventures

(Reuters)

A Democratic member of the US House of Representatives proposed legislation on Monday to bar the US government from renting rooms at President Donald Trump's hotels for official business.

“Donald Trump should not be allowed to line his or his family’s pockets with taxpayer dollars,” Representative Don Beyer of Virginia said in a statement.

He said the amendments he was introducing to a spending bill were necessary because of the Republican president's “unprecedented failure to divest from his business, and the ongoing entanglement between the Trump Organization and the White House.”

Republicans control the House and the Senate.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Last month, the attorneys general of Maryland and the District of Columbia filed a lawsuit alleging that government payments to Trump's businesses violated the US Constitution.

Reuters