The Democrats are a dysfunctional lot to be sure but their latest political stunt is a real head-scratcher.
Congress and Trump’s team and undergoing intensive negotiations to avoid some fast looming government spending deadlines.
Congress is on summer hours, not that they do anything anyway, so any delay to the negotiations could lead to another shutdown.
If the talks stall and the government shuts down, this one will be all on Pelosi because Trump will never, nor should he agree, to this sneak attack.
From The Hill: Democrats are trying to use the power of the purse to legally prevent President Trump from profiting from the federal government spending money at his businesses.
Two annual spending bills House Democrats have brought to the floor to keep the government funded past September include provisions that would prohibit certain federal agencies from entering into contracts with or using taxpayer dollars at Trump businesses, including his hotels, golf courses and condominiums across the globe.
But the effort faces opposition from Republicans who dismiss it as a “partisan stunt” that could jeopardize the president’s security. That will likely make it difficult for the bills to become law in negotiations with the GOP-controlled Senate.
Nonetheless, the authors of the proposal, Reps. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.) and Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), are submitting it as an amendment to every annual spending bill hitting the House floor.
“The fact is when we stay at his hotels and his properties, he makes money. Nobody is supposed to make money from the presidency, directly or indirectly, and they are supposed to report these possibilities to the Congress so we have knowledge,” Cohen said during a House floor debate.
The White House did not reply to a request for comment from The Hill.
The House passed a spending package this past week that would ban the State Department from spending money at Trump businesses. Cohen and Raskin’s amendment was adopted largely along party lines, 231-187, as part of a group of amendments en bloc.
During floor debate on another spending package this week, the House adopted a similar amendment from Cohen and Raskin that applies to the Justice and Commerce departments by voice vote.
President Trump retains ownership of his businesses but has handed off day-to-day operations to his two sons Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump.
A recent report by The Washington Post showed that Trump’s trips to his properties since becoming president have brought his private businesses at least $1.6 million in revenue from the federal government and GOP campaigns.
But the amount is likely much higher given that most government spending records date to just the first half of 2017.
Trump, for example, frequently travels to his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Fla.
