New Bill Aims to Unmask Visitors at Trump's Alternative White Houses
Aptly named 'MAR-A-LAGO Act' would require administration to make visitor logs available for Trump-owned properties where he conducts government business
Amid reports Saturday that President Donald Trump would spend his afternoon "holding meetings" at a golf course he owns in Virginia, grassroots support is growing for a new bill introduced late this week that would force the president to provide visitor logs for Trump-owned properties where he conducts official government business.
"The American people need to know who has access to the White House if we're going to 'drain the swamp'. So far, all we've seen from the President is murk." --Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.)As The Hill reported, it was "not immediately clear from pool reports who the president was planning to meet" during his afternoon at the Trump International Golf Club outside Washington, D.C., but it was pointed out by others that this is the eighth weekend in a row in which Trump has visited one of the luxury properties owned by his company. Since his inauguration on January 20, Trump has spent more than half his weekends at Mar-a-Lago, the resort estate he owns in Florida and which his administration has frequently referred to as the "Winter White House" or the "Southern White House."
On Friday, Democrats in both the House and Senate introduced a bill that would force the Trump administration to maintain logs for Mar-a-Lago and other venues as a way to compel the level of transparency that is mandated for visitors at the White House. The cleverness of an acronym helps make the point, with the lawmakers calling their proposed law the "Making Access Records Available to Lead American Government Openness Act" or "MAR-A-LAGO Act."
In the Senate, the bill's original co-sponsors included Sens. Tom Udall (N.M.), Sheldon Whitehouse (R.I.), Tom Carper (Del.) and Jack Reed (R.I.), while the House version was introduced by Rep. Mike Quigley, a Democrat from Illinois.
The lawmakers say the bill is a response to the Trump administration's refusal to extend the pro-transparency policy established by former President Barack Obama to release visitor logs at the White House 90 to 120 days after they were created.
Udall suggested the necessity of the bill was obvious and its purpose was a "simple" one. "The American people have a right to know who has access to the president and who has leverage over this administration," he explained in a statement.
"Many Americans are rightly worried about whether the wealthy and well-connected are being given special treatment and undue influence in the Trump White House," Udall continued. "President Trump has assembled a cabinet filled with millionaires and billionaires, he's pursuing an agenda of massive tax cuts for the rich, and the initiation fees at Mar-A-Lago--where people are getting uncommon access to the president and his top advisers--have just doubled to $200,000. By refusing to release the White House visitor logs, President Trump is only validating the rampant concerns about who may be pulling the levers in his administration. The president should end his administration's disturbing pattern of stonewalling information and immediately reinstate the previous administration's policy of publishing White House visitor logs. And given President Trump's unprecedented decision to regularly conduct official business at his private business properties, the Trump administration has an obligation to make public the visitor lists at places like Mar-A-Lago and Trump Tower."
And Sen. Whitehouse added, "The American people need to know who has access to the White House if we're going to 'drain the swamp'. So far, all we've seen from the President is murk. Maintaining sensible transparency policies would help dispel concerns that the wealthy and the well-connected have unfair access to the Trump White House. If he won't adopt that policy himself, Congress should require it."
Urgent. It's never been this bad.
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission from the outset was simple. To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It’s never been this bad out there. And it’s never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed and doing some of its best and most important work, the threats we face are intensifying. Right now, with just three days to go in our Spring Campaign, we're falling short of our make-or-break goal. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Can you make a gift right now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? There is no backup plan or rainy day fund. There is only you. —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Amid reports Saturday that President Donald Trump would spend his afternoon "holding meetings" at a golf course he owns in Virginia, grassroots support is growing for a new bill introduced late this week that would force the president to provide visitor logs for Trump-owned properties where he conducts official government business.
"The American people need to know who has access to the White House if we're going to 'drain the swamp'. So far, all we've seen from the President is murk." --Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.)As The Hill reported, it was "not immediately clear from pool reports who the president was planning to meet" during his afternoon at the Trump International Golf Club outside Washington, D.C., but it was pointed out by others that this is the eighth weekend in a row in which Trump has visited one of the luxury properties owned by his company. Since his inauguration on January 20, Trump has spent more than half his weekends at Mar-a-Lago, the resort estate he owns in Florida and which his administration has frequently referred to as the "Winter White House" or the "Southern White House."
On Friday, Democrats in both the House and Senate introduced a bill that would force the Trump administration to maintain logs for Mar-a-Lago and other venues as a way to compel the level of transparency that is mandated for visitors at the White House. The cleverness of an acronym helps make the point, with the lawmakers calling their proposed law the "Making Access Records Available to Lead American Government Openness Act" or "MAR-A-LAGO Act."
In the Senate, the bill's original co-sponsors included Sens. Tom Udall (N.M.), Sheldon Whitehouse (R.I.), Tom Carper (Del.) and Jack Reed (R.I.), while the House version was introduced by Rep. Mike Quigley, a Democrat from Illinois.
The lawmakers say the bill is a response to the Trump administration's refusal to extend the pro-transparency policy established by former President Barack Obama to release visitor logs at the White House 90 to 120 days after they were created.
Udall suggested the necessity of the bill was obvious and its purpose was a "simple" one. "The American people have a right to know who has access to the president and who has leverage over this administration," he explained in a statement.
"Many Americans are rightly worried about whether the wealthy and well-connected are being given special treatment and undue influence in the Trump White House," Udall continued. "President Trump has assembled a cabinet filled with millionaires and billionaires, he's pursuing an agenda of massive tax cuts for the rich, and the initiation fees at Mar-A-Lago--where people are getting uncommon access to the president and his top advisers--have just doubled to $200,000. By refusing to release the White House visitor logs, President Trump is only validating the rampant concerns about who may be pulling the levers in his administration. The president should end his administration's disturbing pattern of stonewalling information and immediately reinstate the previous administration's policy of publishing White House visitor logs. And given President Trump's unprecedented decision to regularly conduct official business at his private business properties, the Trump administration has an obligation to make public the visitor lists at places like Mar-A-Lago and Trump Tower."
And Sen. Whitehouse added, "The American people need to know who has access to the White House if we're going to 'drain the swamp'. So far, all we've seen from the President is murk. Maintaining sensible transparency policies would help dispel concerns that the wealthy and the well-connected have unfair access to the Trump White House. If he won't adopt that policy himself, Congress should require it."
Amid reports Saturday that President Donald Trump would spend his afternoon "holding meetings" at a golf course he owns in Virginia, grassroots support is growing for a new bill introduced late this week that would force the president to provide visitor logs for Trump-owned properties where he conducts official government business.
"The American people need to know who has access to the White House if we're going to 'drain the swamp'. So far, all we've seen from the President is murk." --Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.)As The Hill reported, it was "not immediately clear from pool reports who the president was planning to meet" during his afternoon at the Trump International Golf Club outside Washington, D.C., but it was pointed out by others that this is the eighth weekend in a row in which Trump has visited one of the luxury properties owned by his company. Since his inauguration on January 20, Trump has spent more than half his weekends at Mar-a-Lago, the resort estate he owns in Florida and which his administration has frequently referred to as the "Winter White House" or the "Southern White House."
On Friday, Democrats in both the House and Senate introduced a bill that would force the Trump administration to maintain logs for Mar-a-Lago and other venues as a way to compel the level of transparency that is mandated for visitors at the White House. The cleverness of an acronym helps make the point, with the lawmakers calling their proposed law the "Making Access Records Available to Lead American Government Openness Act" or "MAR-A-LAGO Act."
In the Senate, the bill's original co-sponsors included Sens. Tom Udall (N.M.), Sheldon Whitehouse (R.I.), Tom Carper (Del.) and Jack Reed (R.I.), while the House version was introduced by Rep. Mike Quigley, a Democrat from Illinois.
The lawmakers say the bill is a response to the Trump administration's refusal to extend the pro-transparency policy established by former President Barack Obama to release visitor logs at the White House 90 to 120 days after they were created.
Udall suggested the necessity of the bill was obvious and its purpose was a "simple" one. "The American people have a right to know who has access to the president and who has leverage over this administration," he explained in a statement.
"Many Americans are rightly worried about whether the wealthy and well-connected are being given special treatment and undue influence in the Trump White House," Udall continued. "President Trump has assembled a cabinet filled with millionaires and billionaires, he's pursuing an agenda of massive tax cuts for the rich, and the initiation fees at Mar-A-Lago--where people are getting uncommon access to the president and his top advisers--have just doubled to $200,000. By refusing to release the White House visitor logs, President Trump is only validating the rampant concerns about who may be pulling the levers in his administration. The president should end his administration's disturbing pattern of stonewalling information and immediately reinstate the previous administration's policy of publishing White House visitor logs. And given President Trump's unprecedented decision to regularly conduct official business at his private business properties, the Trump administration has an obligation to make public the visitor lists at places like Mar-A-Lago and Trump Tower."
And Sen. Whitehouse added, "The American people need to know who has access to the White House if we're going to 'drain the swamp'. So far, all we've seen from the President is murk. Maintaining sensible transparency policies would help dispel concerns that the wealthy and the well-connected have unfair access to the Trump White House. If he won't adopt that policy himself, Congress should require it."