The Trump Organization has reached an agreement to sell its Washington hotel lease for $375 million to CGI Merchant Group, which plans to remove ex-President Donald Trump's name from the luxury property's facade, US media reported yesterday.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the Miami-based investment fund has struck a separate agreement with Hilton Worldwide Holdings to rebrand the Trump International Hotel as a Waldorf Astoria.
CGI was not willing to make any comment, despite being contacted by AFP. The Hilton group and the Trump Organization did not immediately return requests.
The Trump Organization does not own the historic building, just a short walk from the White House and down Pennsylvania Avenue from the US Capitol.
The US government leased it to Trump's real estate company in 2013 with an option to extend for another 40 years after the capital city's main post office.
The Trump Organization invested some $200 million in the renovation of the building, which was built in the late 19th century and is on the National Register of Historic Places.
According to a report by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, Trump Old Post Office LLC, the company created to manage the hotel, has suffered more than $71 million in losses between the hotel's opening in 2016 and August 2020. It has never turned a profit.
During Trump's presidency, the establishment - known for its massive atrium and soaring clock tower - served as a meeting place for Republican officials, donors and lobbyists.
At the time, several legislators and other figures expressed concern that the 263-room hotel was accommodating foreign dignitaries visiting Washington.
They pointed out a potential conflict of interest for Trump, who was both President of the United States and a key shareholder in the Trump Organization.
A congressional investigation into the matter is ongoing.