Presidential Visits Shift Gears

A bill currently wending its way through Congress would reimburse airports and businesses near Presidential weekend haunts Mar-a-Lago in Florida and Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey. The draft house bill calls for at least $3.5 million in reimbursement for expenses associated with shutting down the facilities and for lost revenues. The airports affected are Lantana Airport in Palm Beach County, Florida, and in New Jersey Somerset and Solberg, both near Trump National Golf Club.

The bill would also require the FAA to find ways to allow properly vetted pilots to continue to operate to and from the three airports using regulations based on those implemented at three airports in the Washington, D.C. Flight Restricted Zone. The airports currently affected by the Presidential TFRs report that they have lost millions of dollars due to the TFRs.

Politico reported that President Trump stays at the residences around 80 days a year. The sponsors of the bill are Rep. Leonard Lance (R-NJ) and Lois Frankel (D-FL). Politico gives the reimbursement language of the bill a good chance of becoming law.