President-elect Donald Trump may have finished building his Washington, D.C., hotel ahead of schedule, but he reportedly still hasn't finished paying the bills. The Washington Post reported Thursday that two contractors claim they have yet to be paid for some of their work on Trump's $212 million hotel.
Joseph J. Magnolia, Inc., a family-owned plumbing company, is reportedly out $2.98 million after working on the Trump hotel for more than two years. The company's president John D. Magnolia said most of the work — which included "all the plumbing, mechanical, and HVAC work, along with site sewer, storm, and water services" — has been paid for, but the company is still waiting on its last check. Another firm, A&D Construction, claims the Trump Organization owes $79,000 for its work on the hotel's wall base and crown molding.
Both companies have filed a lien to protest the lack of payment, an occurrence that a Trump Organization spokesperson said "is not uncommon" at the "conclusion of construction." Trump, The Washington Post noted, has a history of not paying his contractors in full — and as recently as May, he told The Wall Street Journal, "I love to hold back and negotiate when people don't do good work."
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Magnolia, however, has faith it's all going to work out — and he even admitted he voted for Trump in the election. "Unfortunately Mr. Trump and Ivanka and so forth, they are I guess preoccupied by other matters now," Magnolia said. "They are trying to go run the country. So we'll just see what happens."
For more on the story — including how the liens could affect Trump's lease with the federal government — head over to The Washington Post.
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