CRISIS/TRUMP PEOPLE: “President Trump’s inaugural committee, under fire for a delay in donating its remaining funds to charity, plans to give $3 million to three organizations involved in hurricane rescue efforts, officials said on Tuesday [9-26-17].
Thomas J. Barrack Jr., chairman of the private Presidential Inaugural Committee, said the money will be divided equally among three groups — the American Red Cross, the Salvation Army and Samaritan’s Purse, an evangelical group. All three groups are involved in relief efforts after a string of hurricanes that ravaged the Gulf Coast, Florida and the Caribbean…
The committee raised $107 million for the inauguration, a record amount, accepting corporate individual donations in amounts up to $1 million.
It remains unclear how much money the committee still has, and officials declined to say. They said they anticipated additional costs before winding down the committee.
A spokeswoman for Melania Trump, the first lady, has said that some of the leftover funds have been used for renovations to the White House and Naval Observatory, home of the vice president.”
-Maggie Haberman, “Trump’s Inaugural Committee to Donate $3 Million to Hurricane Relief,” The New York Times online, Sept. 27, 2017