President Donald Trump is facing renewed scrutiny over his financial practices as recent campaign finance disclosures reveal substantial sums of Republican donor money flowing into his business properties through political committees under his influence.
Substantial Payments to Trump Properties
According to a HuffPost analysis of Federal Election Commission data, the Republican National Committee has spent at least $796,513 at Trump's hotels and country clubs in the ten months since he returned to office. Meanwhile, MAGA Inc., Trump's super PAC, contributed another $60,733 to his businesses during the same period.
The combined total of $857,246 represents nearly four-fifths of the $1.1 million that Republican candidates and committees spent at Trump properties. These figures are based on current filings, with some committees reporting only twice annually. The complete 2025 totals won't be fully disclosed until January 2026.
Notable Expenditures and Patterns
The spending patterns reveal significant payments for political events at Trump's properties. On March 5, the RNC spent $193,145.70 hosting an event at Mar-a-Lago, Trump's Palm Beach country club and residence. Just two months later on May 2, the committee paid $307,202.49 for an event at his Doral golf resort near Miami's airport.
MAGA Inc. joined the spending spree on May 30, disbursing $20,711.84 at Trump's golf course in Sterling, Virginia. In total, 73 different GOP candidates and committees directed money toward Trump's businesses, ranging from small contributions like the $45.20 from Wyoming Congresswoman Harriett Hageman's campaign to substantial five and six-figure sums from major Republican organizations.
Continuation of Previous Practices
This strategy of directing controlled committees and encouraging other Republican candidates to spend at his properties—thereby channeling profits directly into his pockets—mirrors approaches Trump employed during his first term. His former Washington, D.C. hotel, located just blocks from the White House and sold after he lost re-election, collected $2.6 million from 112 different GOP candidates and committees throughout his initial presidency.
Jordan Libowitz, communications director for the watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, emphasized the significance of these transactions. "When Trump rakes in tens of millions of dollars from crypto deals, it's easy to miss when he grifts hundreds of thousands of dollars from his political apparatus, but those numbers add up," Libowitz stated.
He further noted the ethical implications: "What makes it worse is that this money was originally donated with the intention of helping elect candidates and push a political agenda. More to the point, if there's no limit to which he's willing to use the presidency to profit himself, then there's no limit to the ways America could be up for sale."
Broader Financial Context
Trump's use of political donor money represents just one aspect of his controversial financial operations during his presidency. His family's World Liberty Financial cryptocurrency business generated close to $1 billion in just the first half of 2025 through sales of so-called "tokens," primarily to foreign investors.
While the political committee spending pales in comparison to his business profits, the amounts remain substantial. Trump has raised $28.1 million for his Never Surrender "leadership" PAC, funds he can largely use for personal expenses, and $176.9 million for his MAGA Inc. super PAC to support or oppose federal candidates.
The fundraising operation heavily relies on small-dollar donors who continue sending $5 to $50 contributions in response to constant email and text message solicitations. Recent appeals have included dubious claims about attempted phone calls, promises to eliminate Social Security taxes, and urgent requests for immediate cash donations based on allegedly damning evidence.
One anonymous GOP consultant familiar with the operation noted that Trump continues raising money from devoted followers using proven algorithms and formulas that have worked for years. Despite Trump's fundraising success, his ability to translate financial advantage into electoral victories remains uncertain, as demonstrated by the poor performance of his handpicked candidates in the 2022 general elections.
