Trump sells DC hotel at centre of ethics violations claims to Miami investment group for $375m

The hotel is the former Old Post Office building and still formally owned by US government

Donald Trump’s family’s hotel in Washington has been sold to a Miami based investor group.

The Trump Organisation announced on Wednesday that it had completed the sale of a long-term lease of the Trump International Hotel to the CGI Merchant Group of Miami.

The sale was finalised for $375m, sources were quoted as saying to the Associated Press, giving the Trump family business as much as a $100m in profit.

The building will be rebranded as a Waldorf Astoria hotel by the new owners who also plan to remove the Trump name from its exterior.

The Trump International Hotel had become a major gathering spot and a symbol of power for Mr Trump, Republican politicians and other lobbyists who congregated there to gain the former president’s favour.

Mr Trump was attacked by Democrats for owning the hotel, something they said was a sign of corruption as it pitted his financial interests against the larger public interest.

Earlier this month, Mr Trump reached an agreement to pay $750,000 to Washington DC after he was accused of overcharging his inaugural committee for use of the hotel.

The lawsuit, which was filed by the District of Columbia in 2020, sought to challenge an estimated $1m in overpayments to the hotel by the committee.

Mr Trump and his organisation deny any wrongdoing.

The hotel had lost more than $70m during the four years of Trump’s presidency, including in each year before the pandemic.

The 263-room hotel is the former Old Post Office building that is still formally owned by the federal government.

In 2012, the Trump Organisation won rights to repair the building and run it as a hotel in paying the federal government annual rent and cut of profit.

The House Committee on Oversight and Reform is currently conducting a conflict of interest probe of the Trump Organisation’s lease on the building, which is owned by the federal government.

Earlier this month, the committee requested documents listing all of its investors.