DORAL, FL - JUNE 01: The front entrance to the Trump National Doral is seen where a golf course owned by Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is located on June 1, 2016 in Doral, Florida. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON - The White House said Thursday it has chosen President Donald Trump's golf resort near Miami as the site for next year's Group of Seven summit.
The announcement to hold the event at Trump National Doral comes at the same time the president has accused Joe Biden's family of profiting from public office because of Hunter Biden's business activities in Ukraine when his father was vice president.
The G-7 summit will be held June 10 to 12.
Trump has touted his resort, saying it's close to the airport, has plenty of hotel rooms and offers separate buildings for every delegation.
A team looking at the sites reported that it was "the perfect physical location to do this," acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney said. He said about a dozen potential sites were narrowed to a list of four finalists before Doral was selected.
"It became apparent at the end of that process that Doral was by far and away, far and away, the best physical facility for this meeting," Mulvaney said.
Mulvaney said that holding the event at Doral would be dramatically cheaper than other sites and that Trump would not be profiting from the event.
"There's no issue here on him profiting from this in any way, shape or form," Mulvaney said.
Some watchdog groups disagreed with Mulvaney's assessment.
Trump "no longer sees fit even to pretend that he is constrained by the law or the Constitution," said Robert Weissman, president of Public Citizen.
"The president is now officially using the power of his office to help prop up his struggling golf business," said Noah Bookbinder, executive director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington.
When the United States has hosted the summit before, it has been held in Puerto Rico; Williamsburg, Virginia; Houston; Denver; Sea Island, Georgia; and Camp David, the presidential retreat in Maryland.
The idea of holding the event at Trump's resort has been criticized by government ethics watchdogs and politicians.
Presidential candidate Beto O'Rourke released the following statement in response on Thursday:
"Today, Beto O’Rourke is calling on Democrats in the House to exercise their Congressional authority to enforce the Constitution’s Emoluments Clause and pass a bill preventing Trump and his administration from hosting the 2020 G-7 Summit at his own property.
The White House announced today that next year’s G-7 Summit will be held at Trump’s Miami-area resort. They also acknowledged that Trump originally suggested the location. According to the Washington Post, this “decision is without precedent in modern American history: The president used his public office to direct a massive contract to himself. The G-7 summit draws hundreds of diplomats, journalists and security personnel and provides a worldwide spotlight.”
While the White House has refuted that there is a conflict of interest, the G-7 Summit will be held in June, which has historically been the second slowest month for the Doral resort. The Doral has also seen a dramatic decline in revenue - with profits falling by 69 percent in three years.
This decision violates Donald Trump’s pledge to separate his private business and the presidency.
Already, the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington has filed suit against Trump for allegedly violating the Constitution’s 'Emoluments Clause,' in selecting Doral to host the G-7 Summit.
This is not the first time Trump has personally profited off of his presidency. According to the Washington Post, 'the government paid Trump’s company $546 per night for each staffer staying in the [Mar-a-Lago] club’s guest rooms and $1,000 for a single night of drinking by White House aides at one of Mar-a-Lago’s bars.'"