FOOTING THE BILL

Donald Trump Jr.’s Trip to India Cost Taxpayers Nearly $100,000: WaPo

The trip included a ribbon cutting ceremony at a high-rise building, and a private meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

U.S. taxpayers incurred a cost of nearly $100,000 for a lavish trip Donald Trump Jr. took to India in February to promote his family’s luxury condominium projects, The Washington Post reports. The trip cost more than $97,805 for hotel rooms, airfare, car rental, and overtime for Secret Service agents, according to 47 pages of purchase orders, requisition forms, and planning work sheets released by the Department of Homeland Security in response to a Freedom of Information request. Since President Trump has not placed his assets in a blind trust—as previous presidents have done—he still has effective control over the Trump real-estate empire, and therefore benefits from his children’s travels.

While in India, Secret Service agents crisscrossed the country following Trump Jr. as he walked the red carpet, attended a ribbon-cutting ceremony at a high-rise overlooking the Arabian Sea in Mumbai, hosted champagne dinners for buyers, and had a private meeting with India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The high cost of this, and similar trips to promote Trump’s brand overseas, has received intense criticism from domestic watchdog groups as well as on Capitol Hill.