The committee has been holding a variety of hearings on accusations the the president has violated the clause repeatedly.
- Click here for the list of hearings.
President Trump is defying warnings from Republican and Democratic ethics experts and refusing to do what every previous president has done for decades — divest himself of his ownership interests, liquidate his business assets, and place them in a truly blind trust operated by an independent entity. As a result, Chairman Cummings is conducting oversight to protect against violations of the Emoluments Clause of the U.S. Constitution, which prohibits the President from obtaining any benefit of any kind from foreign governments or affiliated entities “without the consent of Congress.” Potential Emoluments Clause violations could include foreign government officials who buy up entire floors of hotel rooms, pay higher rents at Trump Tower, lower interest rates on loans, speed up permits for development projects, or take all kinds of other inappropriate actions to ingratiate themselves with the new Administration.
