Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner spent a weekend at a luxury hotel in the Dominican Republic - and it cost taxpayers $58,000
- Ivanka Trump and husband Jared Kushner spent a long weekend at a luxury hotel in the Dominican Republic, which cost taxpayers $58,000.
- Though the Kushners paid for their own expenses, the American public gets to pay for their security detail.
Ivanka Trump's weekend getaway at a luxurious Dominican Republic hotel last summer cost American taxpayers $58,000.
Though the first daughter, who also serves as a White House adviser, and husband Jared Kushner (also a White House adviser) paid for their own costs, taxpayers picked up the tab for the couple's security detail. Federal records show that the bill amounted to nearly $60,000 - $32,064 for a "VIP VISIT" to the Amanera Resort Rio San Juan and $26,280 for a charge simply identified as "HOTEL RESERVATION."
In a statement to Quartz, the White House said the Kushners had followed "all ethics guidelines and rules for White House officials" on their trip to the DR.
"The only expenses incurred by the government were due to USSS protection, which they are required to have," the White House said, adding that advisers don't have a say over the level of involvement the Secret Service has on their trips.
Read more: Ivanka Trump's fashion company is shutting down. Here's the full story of the first daughter's business from its founding to the end.
This is not the most expensive tab taxpayers have had to pick up for the president's children. In 2017, Eric Trump's trip to Uruguay - on official Trump Organization business - cost taxpayers about $100,000 in hotel room bills.
The Amanera Resort is a luxury property in Playa Grande, Rio San Juan, a small Dominican municipality that features breathtaking beaches. Hoy, a local Dominican newspaper, reported in mid-August that Rio San Juan residents observed an "unusual amount of security" around the area, including police and Secret Service agents, at the time of Trump's visit. Hoy reported that Trump arrived to the Caribbean island in a private jet.
Currently, a night at the Amanera Resort can go for as low as $1,750.
