Dem unveils bill to make Trump refund travel costs

Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) on Tuesday announced a new bill that would require President Trump to reimburse the government for public money spent on his travel to properties he owns, such as his beloved Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.

“It is unacceptable for the president to maintain an interest in traveling to properties in which he has a direct financial interest, as the U.S. government is responsible for renting space to personnel in said private commercial entities,” Lieu’s bill says, according to The Washington Examiner.

The Stop Waste and Misuse by the President (SWAMP) Act states that Trump’s visits to his own properties “results in the American taxpayer effectively subsidizing the president’s businesses.”

{mosads}“Every time the president travels to Mar-a-Lago, he necessarily promotes his private business interests via free press at the government’s expense,” it says.

Lieu’s legislation says that each of Trump’s visits to the exclusive Palm Beach resort costs in $3.7 million for security alone, in addition to air travel costs and overtime for local law enforcement.

The bill would mandate that Trump and other high-ranking officials receiving Secret Service protection pay back costs stemming from visits to properties they own.

With summer just around the corner, Trump will reportedly be spending less time at Mar-a-Lago and more at the Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, N.J., which he also owns.