As Trump Pushes ‘Buy American, Hire American,’ His Mar-A-Lago Resort Seeks To Hire 70 Foreign Workers
It may be “Made in America Week,” but at Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort, there is apparently no room for American workers.
The president has deemed this week to be a celebration of the American worker, making appearances and celebrating the expansion of American jobs. But within hours of Trump announcing a $500 million investment at Corning Inc. that will create up to 4,000 new jobs, reports emerged that the president’s own swanky Florida resort is claiming it cannot find Americans to serve as cooks or waiters.
The Mar-a-Lago Club in Florida just asked the Department of Labor permission to hire 70 foreign workers starting in the fall — 15 housekeepers, 20 cooks, and 35 waiters, the Washington Post reported. The request claims that the resort cannot find qualified Americans to serve in those jobs, the report added.
The report came out as Trump is pushing the “buy American, hire American” slogan during “Made in America Week,” the New York Daily News pointed out.
That is not the only Trump-owned property seeking to add new foreign workers. As the Washington Post added, the golf course Trump owns in nearby Jupiter, Florida, also asked permission to hire six foreign workers to serve as cooks.
“The applications to the Department of Labor are a first step in the process of applying for H-2B visas, which would allow the clubs to bring in foreigners for temporary work between October and next May,” the report noted.
The request creates something of a sticky situation, the Washington Post noted. Donald Trump has declined to divest from his businesses, instead turning over day-to-day operations to his adult children. That means Trump’s request could add revenue directly to the president and would need approval from the Labor Department, which reports directly to the president.
During ‘Made in America week,’ President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Club applies to hire 70 foreign workers https://t.co/ymX4eznnNn via @Fahrenthold
— Bradd Jaffy (@BraddJaffy) July 20, 2017
The report has drawn criticism to Donald Trump, especially during the week he declared to be a celebration of American workers. Trump had already been criticized for spending considerable time at Mar-a-Lago while the club was open, traveling down to stay at the resort and golf on a number of weekends.
Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort asks to hire more foreign workers during week celebrating American-made products https://t.co/ORdsyeTviD pic.twitter.com/uFSVCm6Xxk
— The Hill (@thehill) July 20, 2017
There is still a chance that Mar-a-Lago could hire Americans for the open positions. A spokesperson for the Department of Labor told the Washington Post that the resort must make an effort to recruit American workers, including placing help-wanted ads. If those efforts fail, the Trump property can seek permission from the Department of Homeland Security to issue visas for foreign workers recruited from outside the United States.
[Featured Image by Joe Raedle/Getty Images]
