Story highlights The government watchdog said they would begin the inquiry into Trump's visits "shortly"

Trump said profits from foreign government visits to his hotels would go to the Treasury

Washington (CNN) A government watchdog has told lawmakers that it would look into the security costs associated with President Donald Trump's routine trips to Florida and whether the United States Treasury has received payments from Trump for profits he has made from foreign government visits to his hotels.

In a letter to Rep. Elijah Cummings, top Democrat on the House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, the Government Accountability Office said Monday it would begin the inquiry into Trump's Mar-a-Lago visits "shortly," after Cummings and Democratic Sens. Elizabeth Warren, Sheldon Whitehouse and Tom Udall requested the probe.

The scope of the inquiry will include how classified information is protected at the private club, what type of security measures are taken to screen "individuals with access to Mar-a-Lago" and what measures are in place "to ensure charges for travel-related expenses in connection with providing protection for presidential trips to Mar-a-Lago are fair and reasonable."

The government watchdog will also look into whether Trump is keeping his promise to take any profits made at his hotels from foreign governments and transfer them to the US Treasury. Trump's lawyer promised at a news conference in January that, in an effort to avoid conflict of interest, he wouldn't keep such profits.

"He is going to voluntarily donate all profits from foreign government payments made to his hotels to the United States Treasury," said Sheri Dillon, Trump's tax attorney. "This way it is the American people who will profit."

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