Mar-a-Lago requesting permission to hire 78 foreign workers

President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort is requesting federal permission to hire an additional 38 temporary foreign workers.

That brings the total requests in recent days to 78 workers for the upcoming winter season.

{mosads}The Palm Beach resort, which Trump has dubbed the “winter White House,” submitted applications to hire 21 cooks and 17 housekeepers on H-2B visas, according to Labor Department data first reported by The Washington Post.

Mar-a-Lago requested permission to hire foreign 40 waiters and waitresses last week.

The requests come as Trump has encouraged businesses to hire American workers.

Trump has defended hiring foreign workers at his own resorts, saying it is “very, very hard to get people” during the tourist season. The H-2B visas are granted to businesses if there are no qualified or willing American workers available.

The Washington Post reported that other similar clubs, including the nearby Everglades Club, also submitted applications to hire foreign workers. Mar-a-Lago is requesting slightly more foreign workers than the 70 it requested last year.

Proposed hourly salaries for the workers start at $10.68 for housekeepers, $13.31 for cooks and $12.68 for waiters. The Post reported that the salary for cooks is 3 cents lower than in 2017, while the salaries for housekeepers and waiters has gone up slightly.