The President of the United States could soon be the landlord of that country’s defence department if recent reports turn out to be true.
The Washington Post reported that the U.S. Department of Defence is checking out the possibility of renting the Trump Tower in New York. The Fifth Avenue skyscraper, which Trump still owns, is the headquarters of the president’s private company, Trump Organization and serves as the home of his first lady Melania Trump and their son, Barron.
The DoD is “working through appropriate channels… to acquire a limited amount of leased space in Trump Tower,” Lt. Col. J.B. Bridle, spokesperson for the Pentagon, told the newspaper.
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The idea of the DoD renting space in a building owned by the president has once more raised concerns about potential conflict of interest issues. The issue of Trump’s business interests impacting his presidency has dogged him ever since he has refused to release his tax returns during last year’s campaign. Although Trump has resigned from his official management roles and left the operation of his businesses to his adult sons, the president refused to divest his financial stake in his businesses.
Richard Painter, who was chief ethics counsel for former president George W. Bush, said he had never heard of “a president charging rent to the DoD” or any other government agency.
Painter is part of a lawsuit accusing the president of violating a constitutional ban on his continued ownership interest in a hotel in Washington.
The space the DoD is looking at is “necessary for the personnel and equipment who will support the POTUS at his residence in the building,” according to Bridle.