Released by the General Services Administration (GSA), the $2.39 million lease agreement signed Tuesday shows the department paid $180,000 for the last 20 days of April, and will continue to pay $130,000 every month until Sept. 30, 2018.
This is well above the market rate for similarly sized apartment units in the complex, making it one of the most expensive leases within the Big Apple.
The 3,472-square-foot unit, however, is not owned by Trump. Named as a "private individual," the landlord has no ties whatsoever to the Trump Organization, clearing up any doubts as to whether POTUS would benefit from the transaction. The owner’s name was redacted from the government report.
Since reports of the agreement first surfaced, many lawmakers within the Democratic Party objected the decision over the "appearance" of renting a Trump-branded property, but were quickly reassured by the DOD.
"We are not aware of any means through which the president would personally benefit from a government lease of this space," a letter from the Pentagon informed the opposition, adding that the negotiations were "with the owner’s representative’s only."
In May, the Pentagon began renting the Trump Tower unit to house the nuclear "football," a briefcase that contains missile launch codes as well as secure communication tools that must follow POTUS wherever he travels.
Other agencies, such as the US Secret Service, have also had to increase their budgets to meet Trump’s lifestyle demands.
For its 2018 budget, the Secret Service requested an additional $25.7 million to secure Trump Tower and the president’s “protective footprint” within the island city, according to The Wall Street Journal.
