Dem Proposes Capping Amount a President Can Spend on Travel
In introducing the Stop Waste And Misuse by the President (SWAMP) Act, the congressman’s office claims that Trump is on track to spend more during his first year in office than eight years of expenses under Obama. According to the conservative group Judicial Watch, Obama spent $96.9 million on family travel during his time in office. Judicial Watch records also show that Trump spent about $1.3 million for two recent flights in February and March to Mar-a-Lago, a resort in Palm Beach, Fla., owned by the Trump family. Lieu’s office estimates the total cost of security for each trip to Palm Beach at $3.7 million, while also listing a $35,000 charge for golf cart rentals ordered by the Secret Service.
Judicial Watch president Tom Fitton in a recent interview said it’s not a fair comparison between Obama and Trump, as there hasn’t been a large enough sample size for the latter. Some of Obama’s trips were “way out there,” according to Fitton.
“(Trump) is not taking vacation time, frankly, as much as he should,” he said, noting that Lieu’s legislation sounds like a “typical, juvenile, anti-Trump response” to a real problem, which is the cost of the presidency. “Why is it that we need an entire military expedition to move from point A to point B? Is it necessary? I appreciate they want to have all the bases covered, but is it necessary? I don’t know. Those are the sort of questions that only President Trump is going to ask.”
Lieu’s bill describes Trump’s trips to Mar-a-Lago as “unacceptable,” given his direct financial interest in the estate.
“Every time the President travels to Mar-a-Lago, he necessarily promotes his private business interests via free press at the Government’s expense,” the legislation reads, adding that a recent State Department promotion “of Mar-a-Lago on its official website raises serious ethics concerns.”
In introducing the Stop Waste And Misuse by the President (SWAMP) Act, the congressman’s office claims that Trump is on track to spend more during his first year in office than eight years of expenses under Obama. According to the conservative group Judicial Watch, Obama spent $96.9 million on family travel during his time in office. Judicial Watch records also show that Trump spent about $1.3 million for two recent flights in February and March to Mar-a-Lago, a resort in Palm Beach, Fla., owned by the Trump family. Lieu’s office estimates the total cost of security for each trip to Palm Beach at $3.7 million, while also listing a $35,000 charge for golf cart rentals ordered by the Secret Service.
Judicial Watch president Tom Fitton in a recent interview said it’s not a fair comparison between Obama and Trump, as there hasn’t been a large enough sample size for the latter. Some of Obama’s trips were “way out there,” according to Fitton.
“(Trump) is not taking vacation time, frankly, as much as he should,” he said, noting that Lieu’s legislation sounds like a “typical, juvenile, anti-Trump response” to a real problem, which is the cost of the presidency. “Why is it that we need an entire military expedition to move from point A to point B? Is it necessary? I appreciate they want to have all the bases covered, but is it necessary? I don’t know. Those are the sort of questions that only President Trump is going to ask.”
Lieu’s bill describes Trump’s trips to Mar-a-Lago as “unacceptable,” given his direct financial interest in the estate.
“Every time the President travels to Mar-a-Lago, he necessarily promotes his private business interests via free press at the Government’s expense,” the legislation reads, adding that a recent State Department promotion “of Mar-a-Lago on its official website raises serious ethics concerns.”