Between 2012 and 2014, campaigns and political groups spent a combined $69,000 at Trump businesses, according to the report. But since June 2015, when Trump announced he was running for the White House, political spending at the president’s properties has topped $19 million. Some of the initial surge was related to the Trump campaign’s using a Trump company plane during the 2016 election, but much of the uptick comes from conservative candidates and groups.

House Democrats, who have launched a broad impeachment investigation that currently includes whether Trump has illegally profited from his businesses while president, say Republicans are trying to curry favor with the president by spending money at his businesses. Some may even be trying to gain access to the president, who has visited his own properties more than 300 times since he was sworn into office.

“President Trump has perfected the financial shakedown of people seeking political influence as a way of life,” said Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), a member of the House Oversight Committee. “This is now standard operating procedure in Washington. It’s pay-to-play all day.”

At least another 179 foreign governments, businesses, trade associations and religious entities — some with interests before the federal government — have frequented Trump properties, according to Public Citizen , which gathered data from Federal Election Commission records, social media and news reports.

That includes 28 foreign governments — including Azerbaijan, India, Kuwait, Turkey, Ukraine, Malaysia, Romania and Saudi Arabia — as well as 41 conservative advocacy organizations, 51 businesses or business groups, 16 charities, 16 religious groups, 12 state or local groups, nine foreign businesses or business groups and six police or fire organizations. For example, T-Mobile executives stayed at Trump International Hotel in Washington while seeking a green light from the federal government for a merger with Sprint.

“The unceasing parade of foreign governments, politicians and corporations holding events and spending their dollars at Trump’s properties has become normal in Trump’s America,” said Alan Zibel, research director of Public Citizen’s Corporate Presidency Project. “That doesn’t make it right or legal.”

The Trump Organization didn’t respond to a request for comment. The White House referred questions to a previously released statement.

“As he announced in January 2017, President Donald Trump is not involved in the day-to-day operations of the Trump Organization and he does not take any action that benefits him personally,” White House spokesman Judd Deere said. “While House Democrats continue to spread false rumors in complete denial that the President was a successful businessman for decades, President Trump continues to keep his promises to the American people.”

Some of the groups spending money explained that they choose Trump developments because donors and supporters favor the locations.

“Trump Organization properties are world-class venues in destination locations that our supporters want to visit and are excited to attend events at,” said Kelly Sadler, spokeswoman for America First Action, a pro-Trump super PAC. “The staff is always respectful, professional and provides best-in-class service.”

Sadler said America First Action, which spent $545,000 at Trump properties since Trump’s election, pays fair market value for its events in compliance with FEC rules and guidance.

House Democrats are investigating whether Trump is violating the Constitution, which forbids a president to profit from foreign governments unless approved by Congress or to receive any money from the U.S. government except an annual salary. They are even looking into an allegation that groups — including at least one foreign government — tried to ingratiate themselves to Trump by booking rooms at his hotels but never staying in them, POLITICO reported last month. Trump already faces lawsuits alleging he violated the Constitution.

“Donald Trump is violating the Constitution by accepting money from foreign governments, and by refusing to turn over key documents his administration is covering it up,” said Rep. Dina Titus (D-Nev.), chairwoman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure subcommittee with jurisdiction over Trump’s Washington hotel. “We’ve issued subpoenas in our investigation because we deserve to know the extent of President Trump’s lawlessness and corruption.”

Trump ignored calls to fully separate from his eponymous company, which comprises more than 500 businesses, after he was sworn into office. He still owns his business but placed his holdings in a trust designed to hold assets for his benefit and can receive money from the trust without the public’s knowledge. His company donated about $343,000 to the U.S. Treasury that it said came from profits from foreign governments, but watchdog groups say the amount should be higher.

Political spending is easier to track. Federal records show that 192 campaign or political groups have spent a combined $8.3 million at Trump businesses through Oct. 31. Of those, 30 spent more than $10,000 and 108 spent more than $1,000, according to the new report.

The groups spent the most — about $2.5 million — at Trump’s Washington hotel, which has become a place to see and be seen by candidates, Trump staffers and congressional aides. Trump leases the building from the federal government, despite language in the contract that says no “elected official of the Government of the United States ... shall be admitted to any share or part of this Lease, or to any benefit that may arise therefrom.”

Mar-A-Lago, the resort in Palm Beach, Fla., that Trump has dubbed the Winter White House, and Trump National Doral in Miami have each received about $740,000.

Trump’s campaign was the biggest spender — accounting for nearly $3.8 million, or about 45 percent of the money. That includes renting office space in Trump Tower in New York, where Trump famously rode down the escalator and launched his candidacy in 2015, and renting a 757 airplane nicknamed Trump Force One through his company TAG Air.

In June 2015, Donald Trump rode down an escalator in Trump Tower in New York City and announced his candidacy for the U.S. presidency. | Christopher Gregory/Getty Images

“The campaign pays fair market value under negotiated rental agreements and other service agreements in compliance with the law,” a Trump campaign official said. “The campaign works closely with campaign counsel to ensure strict compliance in this regard.”

The Republican National Committee spent $1.6 million. Trump Victory, a joint fundraising committee for Trump’s campaign and the RNC, paid $991,000. Vice President Mike Pence’s Great America Committee, which supports pro-Trump candidates, dropped $238,000.

The biggest spenders from Congress include some of Trump’s top allies, including groups or campaigns representing House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark), Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and Rep. Greg Pence (R-Ind.), the vice president’s older brother, who was elected to Congress in 2018.

Jay Webber, a failed candidate from New Jersey, spent nearly $40,000 for an October 2018 fundraiser at the Trump D.C. hotel that the president himself headlined. Omar Navarro, who ran unsuccessfully against longtime Democratic Rep. Maxine Waters of California twice, has paid more than $18,000 since 2017.

Trump often tweets out endorsements of Republican candidates after they hold events at his properties, according to 1100 Pennsylvania, which tracks visits to Trump properties.

The RNC said many factors are taken into account when determining where to hold an event. “Aside from the fact that donors enjoy visiting Trump properties, other factors like security, price and convenience are all part of the committee’s decision-making process,” an RNC official said. The official said that Trump properties can be cheaper to rent than other venues and that the FEC demands the RNC receive market rates.

Revenue increased at many of the resorts Trump visited in 2018, including Trump International Hotel in Washington, which has become a top destination for Republicans, according to Trump’s most recent personal financial disclosure forms. That comes even as Trump’s overall income dipped slightly, to $434 million in 2018 from $450 million in 2017.

Trump has repeatedly denied that he is using the presidency to boost spending at his resorts.

“I have a lot of hotels all over the place,” he told reporters in September, “and people, they use them because they’re the best.”