New bill addresses Trump’s stays at his own properties

A South Florida Democrat wants Congress to send the president the message he’s being Trumped. U.S. Rep. Alcee Hastings, D-West Delray, filed legislation Wednesday that seeks to cut off tax dollars for President Donald Trump’s visits to his oceanfront mansion Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach.

“His constant use of his own property is padding his own pockets with taxpayer money, while significantly harming local businesses and straining primary law enforcement agencies to the brink,” Hastings said in a prepared statement.

Officially, the bill is titled the Taxpayers Require Urgent Mandatory Protection from Egregious Debt Act of 2017.

The bill has little chance of succeeding in the Republican-controlled Congress, but it expresses the growing frustration of South Florida Democrats. U.S. Reps. Lois Frankel, D-West Palm Beach, and Ted Deutch, D-Boca Raton, joined Hastings earlier this year in sending a letter to Trump asking him to curtail his travel to Mar-a-Lago.

Mar-a-Lago is not just a residence for the president and his family: It’s also a for-profit social club that charges $200,000 a year in dues to members.

Hastings’ bill would allow local governments to file a “civil action” to recover funds from the president if he spends more than 24 hours at a property in which he has an ownership interest. Local businesses adversely affected by the travel could also seek to recover money.

Palm Beach County estimates it has spent nearly $4 million protecting Trump during nine visits he’s made to Mar-a-Lago since being elected president. Businesses owners at the Lantana Airport near Mar-a-Lago say they have lost thousands in revenue because of flight restrictions when the president visits. Trump’s last visit was during the Easter weekend.