A group of Democratic senators have cleverly appropriated the name of President Donald Trump‘s lavish Florida estate, turning it into an acronym for proposed legislation targeting the president.
The “Making Access Records Available to Lead American Government Openness Act” — Mar-a-Lago Act for short — would require Trump’s team to publish visitor logs containing the names of people who visit the president in the White House or anywhere else he conducts official business, such as his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach and Trump Tower in New York.
Since his inauguration, Trump has spent several weekends in the property he has described as his winter White House. He recently hosted Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at the sprawling resort, even indulging in a spot of golf diplomacy.
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But for Democrats, the resort has come to symbolize concerns about the wealthy and privileged enjoying unfettered access to the president.
“It’s simple: the American people have a right to know who has access to the president and who has leverage over this administration,” said Senator Tom Udall of New Mexico in a statement on his website.
The statement cited news reports claiming members at the exclusive resort, who fork out membership fees to the tune of $200,000, have enjoyed frequent access to Trump and his advisers.
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“He joins top administration officials to mingle with the ultra-rich at his ‘winter White House’ and won’t say who paid $200,000 for the privilege,” said Senator Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island.
“Maintaining sensible transparency policies would help dispel concerns that the wealthy and the well-connected have unfair access to the Trump White House,” Whitehouse concluded.
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While the Obama administration voluntarily published visitor access records 90 to 120 days after they were created, the Trump White House’s website vaguely says that records will be posted “once they become available.”
The Mar-a-Lago Act faces some steep hurdles to be passed however: it would have to be approved by the Republican-controlled Congress before being signed into law by none other than Trump himself.
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