President-elect Donald Trump recently opened a new luxury hotel in Washington, D.C. and showed off the property during a press conference on Septer 16, 2016. What he did not tell the public is how several contractors who worked on the project are now trying to get paid.
On December 22, AES Electric filed a claim with the federal government, stating that Trump owed it over $2 million. The A&D Construction firm and the Joseph J. Magnolia Inc. plumbing company are also seeking payments of $80,000 and $2.98 million, respectively.
That brings the total of alleged unpaid bills to over $5 million. Tim Miller, the executive vice-president of AES, said that workers put in 12-hour shifts to get the hotel open on time, and it is only fair that Trump pays what he owes. He added that none of the claims are politically motivated.
Dana Millbank, a columnist for the Washington Post, spent a night at the new Trump hotel, where room rates start at $700. He claimed that nothing in the room was American made except for a $25 chocolate bar. This seems to contradict the concern Trump has expressed for the country’s working class while he refuses to meet financial obligations to contractors.