The Trump family business is asking the federal government to give President Donald Trump’s hotel in Washington, DC, a break on its monthly lease payments during the coronavirus pandemic, The New York Times reported Tuesday.
The Trump Organization has looked into changing the Trump International Hotel’s lease payments to the General Services Administration in recent weeks, according to The Times, which cited people familiar with the matter.
The DC hotel is housed in the Old Post Office building, a federally-owned property on Pennsylvania Avenue between the White House and Capitol building. The hotel is currently paying a monthly rent of $267,653 to the GSA, according to the GSA website.
CNN reached out to the Trump family and a spokesperson for the organization for comment but has not received a response. Eric Trump, one of the President’s sons who oversees the family business, confirmed the request to the Times and said they were asking the GSA about relief the agency may be giving other federal tenants.
“Just treat us the same,” Eric Trump told the Times. “Whatever that may be is fine.”
The GSA did not respond to requests for comment.
CNN has reported that Trump properties have collectively furloughed nearly 2,000 employees across several states as businesses are forced to close to stop the spread of the virus.
Trump International hotel workers were furloughed in Washington (237). Chicago (294 employees) and Las Vegas (552 employees). Trump International Hotel and Tower in New York furloughed 70 employees and Trump National Golf Club in Potomac Falls, Virginia, another 102 employees.
The coronavirus pandemic is costing Trump Organization properties over a million dollars in lost revenue daily, according to The Wall Street Journal. The Washington Post reported earlier this month the company has laid off or furloughed nearly 1,500 employees at its hotels in the United States and Canada.
Trump and his family have been barred from seeking relief from a Treasury Department $500 billion lending program included in the $2 trillion coronavirus stimulus package he signed last month.
