• President Donald Trump’s administration said it would host the next G7 summit of world leaders at his company’s Doral resort in Miami.
  • Mick Mulvaney, the acting White House chief of staff, announced the decision at a Thursday press briefing.
  • Trump first floated the idea of hosting the next summit at his financially underperforming resort after the G7 summit this year in Biarritz, France.
  • The decision raised obvious ethical issues and concerns that Trump, in hosting a massive summit at one of his company’s properties, would be profiting from his presidency.
  • Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.

President Donald Trump’s administration said it would host the next G7 summit of world leaders at his company’s Doral resort in Miami, which has been struggling financially.

Mick Mulvaney, the acting White House chief of staff, announced the decision at a Thursday press briefing, telling reporters that the administration reviewed multiple locations and decided that Miami, and Doral specifically, would be the best.

“It’s not the only place – it’s the best place,” Mulvaney said. “There are plenty of places to hold a large event, no doubt about it. We wanted it at a specific time, we wanted it in early June, so that limits it a little bit. And there are difficulties going various places.”

Trump floated the idea of hosting the next summit at his financially underperforming resort after the G7 summit this year in Biarritz, France, saying Doral was both spacious and conveniently located next to Miami International Airport.

The Washington Post reported in May that Doral's net operating income had plunged by a stunning 69% since 2015.

The Post's David Fahrenthold tweeted on Thursday: "The summit will be held in June, when Miami is hot and Doral is usually empty. In 2017, only 38% of Doral's rooms were occupied in June. Only August (31%) was slower." He added that with Trump hosting a summit of world leaders at the facility in June, the resort would be fully booked.

Read more: House Judiciary Committee says it will investigate Trump's pitch to host the next G7 summit at his Doral resort

The decision raised obvious ethical issues and concerns that Trump, in hosting a massive summit at one of his company's properties, would be profiting from his presidency. The emoluments clause of the US Constitution bars presidents from accepting any cash or valuable gifts from foreign governments without approval from Congress.

"I was skeptical. I was," Mulvaney told reporters. "I was aware of the sort of political criticism we would come under for doing it at Doral, which is why I was so surprised when the advance team came back and said this is the perfect physical location to do this."

When a reporter raised the issue of Trump profiting from the event, Mulvaney said: "Again, he's not making any money off of this, just like he's not making any money from working here. If you think it's going to help his brand, that's great, but I would suggest he doesn't need much help promoting his brand."