Justice Neil Gorsuch, whose appointment to the Supreme Court is considered to be among Trump’s most significant accomplishment in the White House, will deliver the keynote address. | Mandel Ngan/Getty Images Gorsuch to headline event at Trump Hotel

Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch is slated to headline a September event at the Trump International Hotel.

The “Defending Freedom Luncheon,” hosted by the nonprofit Fund for American Studies, is an invitation-only event to celebrate “the constitutional framework that has protected our free society and made America exceptional,” according to the group’s website.


Gorsuch, whose appointment to the Supreme Court is considered to be among Trump’s most significant accomplishment in the White House, will deliver the keynote address.

Trump’s D.C. hotel has become a flash point for critics and ethics experts who claim the for-profit hotel bearing the president’s name allows individuals and groups, including foreign diplomats, to influence the president by spending money at the lavish hotel.

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The Washington Post recently reported that the hotel turned a $2 million profit in the first four months of 2017, exceeding expectations. Trump himself has dined repeatedly at the hotel, and Republican operatives, lobbyists and Cabinet officials can often be spotted there.

Steve Slattery, the executive vice president of TFAS, said there was no political motivation in booking the Trump Hotel for the event. The booking took place in January, and the group has a prior relationship with the hotel's caterer, who used to work at Washington's Four Seasons, Slattery said. Gorsuch was invited, and accepted the invitation, in June.

"We're not a political organization, we're an educational organization and it's a great honor to have a Supreme Court Justice speak to our group," Slattery said Thursday. "We certainly didn't want or expect a controversy."

A representative for the Supreme Court did not respond to a request for comment.



This article tagged under: Neil Gorsuch