Sen. Gary Peters has a few questions and observations about Mike Pence’s recent stay at Donald Trump’s hotel in Ireland. Pence stayed at the Trump International Golf Club in Doonbeg, citing his family ties to the town. But it put him 180 miles away from Dublin, where he had official meetings.
“I find it hard to believe that your office was unable to identify lodgings that could accommodate the security and logistical needs of your trip in the capital of Ireland, which houses among other locations the United States Embassy—where President Reagan stayed during his 1984 visit,” the Michigan Democrat, who is also the ranking member on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, wrote to Pence. Former Vice President Joe Biden also stayed in Dublin, in the U.S. ambassador’s residence, in 2016. But for Pence, it was apparently worth traveling hours each way between Doonbeg and Dublin.
As Peters pointed out, whether Pence’s decision to stay in Doonbeg was made because of his family history or because of Trump’s profit motive, it wasn’t exactly a good use of official resources. Either the Pence family or the Trump family came before Pence’s duties as vice president and the cost of his travel.
It’s almost laughably unlikely that Pence’s office will answer Peters’ questions, which include how much the trip cost—by category, including lodging, airfare, and so on—how much money went to the Trump resort, comparable room costs for hotels in Doonbeg and in Dublin, and whether anyone bothered to check how much it would have cost for Pence to stay in Dublin to begin with. But they’re good questions, and maybe months or years from now someone will be able to FOIA part of the answers. Realistically, though, we can be pretty damn sure that the answer is that what Pence wanted—to stay in Doonbeg—and what Trump always wants—to send extra business to his hotels—came together, and no one asked any more questions.