The State Department spent $15,000 on rooms at a Trump hotel

The Washington Post revealed Wednesday that the State Department dropped more than $15,000 on rooms at a Trump hotel in Vancouver when members of the Trump family headed there in February for the grand opening. The rooms "reflect the first evidence of State Department expenditures at a Trump-branded property since President Trump took office in January," the Post noted. The hotel is not owned by the Trump Organization, but the Trump family business does have a management and licensing deal on the Vancouver property.
The opening ceremony was attended by Donald Trump Jr. and his wife, Eric Trump and his wife, and Tiffany Trump, all of whom require protection as members of the president's immediate family. A Secret Service spokesman said that it's not unusual on international trips to "utilize our partners at the State Department to assist us in facilitating our security plan." Citing department policy, a State Department official refused to specify whom the 19 rooms were booked for or why those individuals were staying at the Trump hotel.
In addition to the money spent on "a total of 56 nights booked at the Trump hotel in Vancouver," the Post reported the State Department "also spent $5,000 for rooms at a nearby Hyatt Regency, which is about a five-minute walk from the Trump hotel."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Read more on the story at The Washington Post.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
August 2 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Saturday’s political cartoons include a tariff self-own, rough times at the Trump golf course, and more
-
5 inexcusably hilarious cartoons about Ghislaine Maxwell angling for a pardon
Cartoons Artists take on the circle of life, Ghislaine's Island, and more
-
Ozzy Osbourne obituary: heavy metal wildman and lovable reality TV dad
In the Spotlight For Osbourne, metal was 'not the music of hell but rather the music of Earth, not a fantasy but a survival guide'
-
Samsung to make Tesla chips in $16.5B deal
Speed Read Tesla has signed a deal to get its next-generation chips from Samsung
-
FCC greenlights $8B Paramount-Skydance merger
Speed Read The Federal Communications Commission will allow Paramount to merge with the Hollywood studio Skydance
-
Tesla reports plummeting profits
Speed Read The company may soon face more problems with the expiration of federal electric vehicle tax credits
-
Dollar faces historic slump as stocks hit new high
Speed Read While stocks have recovered post-Trump tariffs, the dollar has weakened more than 10% this year
-
Economists fear US inflation data less reliable
speed read The Labor Department is collecting less data for its consumer price index due to staffing shortages
-
Crypto firm Coinbase hacked, faces SEC scrutiny
Speed Read The Securities and Exchange Commission has also been investigating whether Coinbase misstated its user numbers in past disclosures
-
Starbucks baristas strike over dress code
speed read The new uniform 'puts the burden on baristas' to buy new clothes, said a Starbucks Workers United union delegate
-
Warren Buffet announces surprise retirement
speed read At the annual meeting of Berkshire Hathaway, the billionaire investor named Vice Chairman Greg Abel his replacement