Jared Kushner’s May 2021 Stay at the Ritz-Carlton Abu Dhabi Cost U.S. Taxpayers Thousands

Nearly six months after Trump grudgingly ceded power to now-President Joe Biden, Ivanka Trump’s husband is still running up a travel tab on the public dime. According to a federal acquisitions document reviewed by The Daily Beast, the State Department laid out at least $12,950 for Jared Kushner’s Secret Service detail to accompany him during a stay at the Ritz-Carlton Abu Dhabi this month. The filing, a so-called sole-source justification for a contract to be awarded without seeking competitive bids, called for 50 “room nights” at $259 each, to accommodate the entourage while in the United Arab Emirates, “including internet facilities and other services in support of the USSS of Former Senior Advisor to the President of the United States, JARED KUSHNER visit, from May 5, 2021 to May 14, 2021.”

“The selection was based on the Former Senior Advisor to the President of the United States, JARED KUSHNER [sic] decision and the high security level the hotel provides,” it says.

About a month before Trump left office, his son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner took off on one last overseas trip. The official excursion cost U.S. taxpayers at least $24,335 in hotel costs alone, not including flights, local transportation, meals, as well as salary and overtime for Kushner’s Secret Service protective detail. It is virtually unheard of for former administration officials to keep their Secret Service protection once they leave office. However, prior to vacating the White House, Trump granted an additional six months of security for at least three Cabinet appointees and 13 members of his family, including Kushner. Kushner’s financial ties to the UAE have raised concerns among ethics watchdogs such as the nonpartisan Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. Government officials from the UAE believed Kushner was “particularly manipulable” due to his extensive business dealings and longstanding money troubles, The Washington Post reported. When Kushner and wife Ivanka spent a luxury weekend in the Dominican Republic in 2018, U.S. taxpayers footed the bill for their security detail, spending more than $58,000 in public funds on room and board.