The political organization that lobbies for the oil industry is paying to stay at the Trump International Hotel before a White House meeting to discuss United States trade policy, Politico reported Wednesday.
The American Petroleum Institute (API) is holding a two-day board meeting at President Donald Trump's real estate investment.
Politico also reported that Energy Secretary Rick Perry and Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke will be attending meetings with the oil lobbyists on Wednesday night.
“This kind of thing was a fear a lot of people had when the president did not divest from his business,” said Jordan Libowitz of the watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) “What’s stopping the API from going to the president and saying, ‘Hey we just dropped a lot of money at your hotel. Just wanted you to know that before we started this meeting’?”
The API's Thursday meeting at the White House is expected to include API chief executive Jack Gerard and President Trump.
This is not the first time the fossil fuel industry has patronized Trump International in America's capitol to lobby President Trump.
In 2017, a lobbying effort lead by Saudi Arabia spentd over $270,000 at the hotel.
The American Petroleum Institute did not say how much was the conference cost, but Politico's sources said 200 people may be involved.
