The RNC Is Hosting Its Christmas Party This Year At Donald Trump’s Hotel
The
Republican National Committee will host its Christmas Party this year at the
Trump International Hotel in Washington ,
D.C.
The event,
which two GOP sources confirmed to The Huffington Post, is said to be a more
exclusive and celebratory affair this year owing to the unexpected election
victories enjoyed by the party this November. But in moving the proceedings to
Donald Trump’s downtown D.C. hotel, which only opened this past fall, the
committee risks furthering the perception that the president-elect is
leveraging his newfound political power for private gains.
Trump has yet to announce his plans for handling or
transferring his vast business empire once he takes office. But the NewYork Times reported on Wednesday night
that Trump plans to step down from his post while still maintaining a stake in
the company.
Such a move
will likely leave critics and concerned politicians and observers unsatisfied
about potential conflicts of interest. Already, there have been complaints that
Trump has carelessly ― if not unethically ― intermingled his business and
political affairs. Those first surfaced during the campaign,when he spent millions on his own plane and property, and extended to the first
weeks of the transition as he made various calls to
foreign officials who resided in countries where the Trump Organization does
business.
His hotel
in D.C. has been a focus of controversy too.
Earlier
this week, the conservative Heritage Foundation hosted a reception there featuring Vice President-elect Mike Pence.
Foreign diplomats, meanwhile, have said they
feel pressure to stay at the Trump International while in town, if only because
staying elsewhere would send a bad signal to the incoming administration.
The Trump campaign, the RNC and the Trump
International hotel would not comment for this story.
