BEHIND THE VELVET ROPE

Don Jr.’s $500K D.C. Club Plans to Ban a Lot of Republicans—Here’s Why

Even some MAGA loyalists won’t be permitted through the door if the club’s reported rules hold up.

Donald Trump Jr.’s new exclusive club in Washington may have a very slimline guest list.

That’s because “Executive Branch,” set to open in June, plans to bar many of the folks who frequent similar clubs that cost thousands to join, reported The New York Times.

Media members of any kind will not be allowed through its Georgetown doors, said President Donald Trump’s crypto czar, David Sacks, who is a club co-founder. Also likely to be barred will be “Bush-era Republicans” and those who frequent D.C.’s other clubs.

The barring of journalists is perhaps unsurprising, given the Trump-verse’s aversion to the mainstream media. Still, a sweeping ban on all press would keep some of MAGA’s most loyal soldiers on the outside looking in.

An Executive Branch spokesperson told the Times there is another stringent barrier to entry: You must know one of the club’s owners to get through the door.

In addition to Don Jr. and Sacks, the club is owned by Zach and Alex Witkoff, the sons of President Trump’s Middle East envoy; Omeed Malik, who leads 1789 Capital; and Chris Buskirk, who co-founded the conservative donor group “Rockbridge Network.”

“This is not just for any Saudi businessman,” the spokesperson reportedly said.

It is, however, for the ultra-wealthy. A club invitation first obtained by Politico said that membership will cost as much as $500,000 up front, plus an additional annual fee in the following years. Still, the website reported the club had a waitlist as of late April.

The Trump Organization did not respond to the Daily Beast’s request for club policies and pricing.

Sacks explained the reasoning for the Executive Branch’s exclusivity on his podcast last month, according to the Times.

“To the extent there are Republican clubs, they tend to be like more Bush-era Republicans as opposed to Trump-era Republicans,” he said. “So we wanted to create something new, hipper, and Trump-aligned.”

A source told CNBC that “prospective members of the club have to be heavily vetted and approved by its founders.”

“We don’t want members of the media or just a lot of lobbyists joining,” a person close to the club told the financial network. “We want people to feel comfortable having conversations in privacy.”

GOLDEN AGE

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Janna Brancolini

The elder Trump’s love of Gilded Age design and gold accents is not believed to be influencing the club’s décor. Instead, it will feature a modern interior similar to Aman New York, a luxurious hotel and private club that opened in 2022 in Midtown.

The aesthetic, however, is not expected to keep the president from visiting.

Trump, 78, no longer has the Trump International Hotel in the nation’s capital to socialize with allies and donors, as he did in his first term. The property was sold in 2022 and is now owned by the Waldorf Astoria chain. The Times said that the “expectation” is that Trump will occasionally visit Executive Branch when he wants a break from the White House but does not wish to trek to Mar-a-Lago in South Florida.

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