I traditionally have a thread heading to the election, here we go.
Get out the popcorn for this one.
Quote
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is expected to formally announce next week he is running for president in 2024, NBC News reported Thursday, citing two sources familiar with the matter.
The governor's official entry into the Republican primary field will put him head-to-head with former President Donald Trump, the party's current frontrunner for the nomination. Trump has already spent months treating DeSantis as his primary campaign rival, thrashing him with torrents of criticism over his gubernatorial record, his political skills and his personality.
Well, I care that my tax dollars paid $1.4 million for the Secret Service to stay at Trump properties. Nice defection, though.
I doubt Trump was in charge of booking rooms
As for your tax money being wasted, you can thank congress and the Obama administration.
"A proposal to exempt the Secret Service from the lodging expense caps was included in President Barack Obama's budget request for fiscal year 2017, which he submitted in February 2016. The government's fiscal years don't coincide with calendar years; fiscal year 2017 started on October 1, 2016, while Obama was still in office.
The proposal, which included suggested language for the appropriations act, likely filtered up to Obama from the Secret Service through its parent agency, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Assuming the federal budget process followed its usual trajectory, the department would have submitted its funding request to the president's Office of Management and Budget in September 2015. Before that, the Secret Service may have submitted its own funding request to the department as early as Spring 2015, before Trump announced his candidacy for president."
As for your tax money being wasted, you can thank congress and the Obama administration.
"A proposal to exempt the Secret Service from the lodging expense caps was included in President Barack Obama's budget request for fiscal year 2017, which he submitted in February 2016. The government's fiscal years don't coincide with calendar years; fiscal year 2017 started on October 1, 2016, while Obama was still in office.
The proposal, which included suggested language for the appropriations act, likely filtered up to Obama from the Secret Service through its parent agency, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Assuming the federal budget process followed its usual trajectory, the department would have submitted its funding request to the president's Office of Management and Budget in September 2015. Before that, the Secret Service may have submitted its own funding request to the department as early as Spring 2015, before Trump announced his candidacy for president."
Interesting article. Yes, Obama administration proposed the changes, Congress passed the bill, Trump signed it into law. The changes were proposed to cover for increased number of protectees and increase meal allowances.
It looks like the Trump-appointed IG did not oversee SS spending very closely.
of course DJT wasn't booking rooms, but any businessman would be aware of that amount of revenue. It was much higher than Eric's figure of $50 a night.
Specializes in NICU, PICU, Transport, L&D, Hospice.
Beerman said:
I doubt Trump was in charge of booking rooms
As for your tax money being wasted, you can thank congress and the Obama administration.
"A proposal to exempt the Secret Service from the lodging expense caps was included in President Barack Obama's budget request for fiscal year 2017, which he submitted in February 2016. The government's fiscal years don't coincide with calendar years; fiscal year 2017 started on October 1, 2016, while Obama was still in office.
The proposal, which included suggested language for the appropriations act, likely filtered up to Obama from the Secret Service through its parent agency, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Assuming the federal budget process followed its usual trajectory, the department would have submitted its funding request to the president's Office of Management and Budget in September 2015. Before that, the Secret Service may have submitted its own funding request to the department as early as Spring 2015, before Trump announced his candidacy for president."
That's a clever way to spin the conversation. Of course, no one suggested that Trump was booking rooms. Some of us certainly would suggest that Trump WAS taking actions which made it necessary for government officials to utilize Trump lodging or amenities. Others of us might note that the Trump family charged crazily inflated prices for inaugural events at Trump property, why would they have stopped with that behavior during the presidency itself?
Your comment was a clever attempt to blame Obama for Trump's corrupt and unethical behavior. Trump couldn't possibly be bad, the Obama era law is bad... well done.
Renting or buying real estate at inflated prices are time-honored methods of laundering bribes. Just ask Clarence Thomas.
As for Secret Service lodging: classic kickback scam.
Not sure the point you're trying to make in the first paragraph.
As for the kickback, don't see it as a "scam". It was money that was going to be spent on.lodging anyway. I'd rather he hadn't done that, but it doesn't concern me any more or less than how other politicians enrich themselves, friends, and associates. What the Biden family has engaged in is much worse.
Still doubt he had anything to do with what was charged to the SS. For one, it was only $1.5 million in revenue (not profit). A drop in the bucket compared to the total revenue those properties brought in during his 4 years.
Not sure the point you're trying to make in the first paragraph.
As for the kickback, don't see it as a "scam". It was money that was going to be spent on.lodging anyway. I'd rather he hadn't done that, but it doesn't concern me any more or less than how other politicians enrich themselves, friends, and associates. What the Biden family has engaged in is much worse.
Still doubt he had anything to do with what was charged to the SS. For one, it was only $1.5 million in revenue (not profit). A drop in the bucket compared to the total revenue those properties brought in during his 4 years.
You're being disingenuous - stop it.
It was pretty common knowledge that foreign nationals and lobbyists doing business with Trump's administration were flooding into his hotel in DC.
It's also pretty common knowledge that, not only did trump require that SS lodging be at his facilities (the kickback) but that they were overcharged to the tune of 2 or 3 times the going rate.
You're trying to imply that those revenues were too paltry for trump to be bothered with. So were the bills he refused to pay to his various contractors over the years. Gimme a break!
Specializes in NICU, PICU, Transport, L&D, Hospice.
Beerman said:
Not sure the point you're trying to make in the first paragraph.
As for the kickback, don't see it as a "scam". It was money that was going to be spent on.lodging anyway. I'd rather he hadn't done that, but it doesn't concern me any more or less than how other politicians enrich themselves, friends, and associates. What the Biden family has engaged in is much worse.
Still doubt he had anything to do with what was charged to the SS. For one, it was only $1.5 million in revenue (not profit). A drop in the bucket compared to the total revenue those properties brought in during his 4 years.
Please explain what the Biden family engaged in and how that thing was worse than requiring government staff to stay at Trump properties in the course of their duties and then charging the highest rates for those accommodations. It would be great if you could be specific.
In the case of Trump, would the corruption matter more to you if you thought that corruption represented a larger portion of Trump's revenue? It seems like corruption that only involves a "drop in the bucket" of the fraud and felon's total revenue doesn't deserve much concern from working class Americans who generally follow the rules and laws. I guess there must be two justice systems after all and that's OK with Trump voters. Sure seems like it.
While the hotel was losing money, Trump's annual financial disclosures filed with the Office of Government Ethics reported publicly only the hotel's revenue, which added up to nearly $156.6 million.
Yet over that same period, Trump's accounting firm, WeiserMazars LLP, disclosed in confidential reports to the GSA that the hotel lost nearly $73.9 million. The firm later changed its name to Mazars USA LLP.
According to a new report issued Friday by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, the effect of the discrepancy between what Trump publicly reported and what he privately disclosed was to mislead the public about the president's financial situation.
Still doubt he had anything to do with what was charged to the SS. For one, it was only $1.5 million in revenue (not profit). A drop in the bucket compared to the total revenue those properties brought in during his 4 years.
Yes, profit, not revenue. So if the charges were three times what they should have been, he profited at least $1 million. He's such a successful businessman who needs to keep asking lil' ol' me for $10 donations, offering to sell me chunks of his old suits and ugly shoes. Weird.
Oh, and I hear he has a new book out, only $99. Hundreds of pages of photos of Trump, very little text. An Amazon bestseller. It's a cult.
Beerman, BSN
4,433 Posts
I doubt Trump was in charge of booking rooms
As for your tax money being wasted, you can thank congress and the Obama administration.
"A proposal to exempt the Secret Service from the lodging expense caps was included in President Barack Obama's budget request for fiscal year 2017, which he submitted in February 2016. The government's fiscal years don't coincide with calendar years; fiscal year 2017 started on October 1, 2016, while Obama was still in office.
The proposal, which included suggested language for the appropriations act, likely filtered up to Obama from the Secret Service through its parent agency, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Assuming the federal budget process followed its usual trajectory, the department would have submitted its funding request to the president's Office of Management and Budget in September 2015. Before that, the Secret Service may have submitted its own funding request to the department as early as Spring 2015, before Trump announced his candidacy for president."
https://www.pogo.org/analysis/how-trump-is-fleecing-the-secret-service-and-how-to-stop-it